Neutral Icetale
by Reef-2-VB
Summary: Monsters are made of magic. Humans are filled with Determination. Giving magic to a human... can have unintended consequences. Two children with a shared past, one dead and one living, seek to save monsterkind, return to their families, and come to terms with their situation. But they may not like what they discover... (Complete neutral run of Icetale.)
1. Prologue

Chara woke to darkness, yet should not have woken at all.

This wasn't the first time this had happened. When they woke in the underground all that time ago, they were sure they should have died. Sure they were going to die. Humans that go to Mt. Ebott never return – so the saying went.

Yet they still lived. Even now they still lived, but this time they were sure they should be dead. They just weren't currently sure why they were so sure of that.

The area around them was either an infinite dark void, or they'd gone blind. The latter couldn't be the case since when they moved they saw their own body lying on the "ground." Though nothing seemed to be beneath them to support them, Chara stood and looked around. Nothing, nothing, everywhere there was absolutely nothing. Maybe they really _were_ dead.

No sense lingering on it, of course. They instead tried to think what the last thing was they remembered and the reason for their death. Also nothing. The last thing they could actually think of... was Asriel.

Being with Asriel. Being together with him always. They should be together now, but some pain in Chara's heart told them something had gone wrong. Something had gone horribly wrong. They squeezed their eyes shut as if that would help them focus and still found nothing but pain. So they decided to instead start at the last full memory.

And when their eyes opened, they were in New Home. It shimmered like a mirage and refused to settle, leading Chara to wonder if what they were seeing was real. They had happily lived here for many months with the monster family who had adopted them: Asriel, who found them when they fell into the underground, and his parents Asgore and Toriel, the kind rulers of the underground. They had become the only family Chara ever had. They made Chara... happy.

This place had been where they all had lived, but as Chara hesitantly wandered through the house they found it empty. They seemed to be the sole inhabitant, wandering down the quiet hallway and finding nobody in the bedrooms. Feeling somewhat defeated they continued down the hall to look in the mirror. To see if they were even there, either.

What they found... wasn't what they expected.

It was them, of course. Faded green sweater with a single stripe. Pale skin. Normally straight hair a bit messier than usual. Eyes red. White of the left eye... now black? They pulled at the edges of their eye as if it would change anything, but it was... definitely black now. Is it because they were "dead"? Is it because of how they died?

They still couldn't recall how that happened.

After staring at themself in the mirror for a while, Chara realized something else. The heart-shaped locket they had always worn in life was nowhere to be seen. Asriel had given that to them as a gift, a symbol of their friendship. And now... just like he seemed to be, it was gone.

They closed their eyes and let out a sigh. They had to find him. They had to remember what happened. But if starting from what they last remembered didn't help... maybe it would jog their memory to start from the beginning.

When they opened their eyes again it was not a void or their home waiting for them. It was a darkened lab that was once all they knew. The place where they had taken their first steps and learned all they knew. The place where doctors and nurses periodically forced various substances into them and other children. The place where, through the window, you could see a bed of beautiful golden flowers.

Their hell.

They felt they had to reflect on this memory, though. Needles and liquids and white coats, children dying, all in the same of one combined purpose. The mountain was so nearby. Though the war had long since passed, the humans still lived in fear of it. Some of them got the idea that the only way to rid of their fear was to finally rid of the monsters beneath the surface. But how to fight the magical beings now?

Fight fire with fire. Fight magic with magic.

Chara knew by now the effect Determination had on monsters. It was a rare occurrence, but on occasion some monsters had obtained it on their own or through some other method. All monsters that were filled with Determination would melt, slowly but surely, until there was nothing left of them. The opposite was true for humans – while they were naturally filled with Determination, magic was a foreign substance. It froze their bodies slowly, making their skin ice cold and eventually turning their whole body to ice. For humans there was but one difference: With enough Determination they could continue to live with their ice cold body, never turning to ice. Thus, the scientists paid off families and took the children with the most Determination.

Chara had been one of them.

They never knew their parents and grew up in those conditions. They weren't treated poorly, but as they grew up they realized what people really saw them as. All the children had cold skin and were able to use a small amount of magical abilities. They were kept in the lab and never allowed out.

People saw them as tools. Weapons.

Monsters.

They created the very thing they wished to destroy.

Chara lived with this knowledge for most of their life. They found no comfort in the other children, who lived knowing the same. The smallest joy in their life they could find by the time they had turned twelve were the golden flowers outside their window. The center of the village was not usually filled with people, making it an even more comforting sight. Over time, realizing the people who handled them had no care for them... they grew to truly despise people.

That's why, hearing the words from those same scientists filled them with even more joy than they had ever known: "Legends say that those who climb the mountain never return." Chara's ultimate destination became their goal. They had to get there. They wanted to disappear. Only a child, they figured the monsters would get to them if nothing else happened.

Chara fled. Made it to the mountain. They thought they had died when they fell down, but instead Asriel found them and helped them to his home. His parents welcomed them with open arms.

For a time, they lived there and were happy.

But it would never last.

Over the months their eyes began to turn red, something that concerned their parents more than it concerned them. Side-effects were nothing new. The more concerning part was a slow personality change that went unnoticed, a slow craving that became unbearable.

Their true purpose, remembered: To destroy monsters.

Their true desire, revealed:

Determination.

Being raised around magical beings, being filled with magic, they slowly grew colder and colder. bits of ice appeared on their skin that they could hardly manage to wash away. At the rate they were going they'd surely die. Their craving for Determination made them a bit unstable, barely able to control the sudden urges to attack the monsters around them in search of it. If they didn't die, they knew they would do worse. They would hurt their family whether they wanted to or not.

Chara could not allow that.

Presently, they opened their eyes to another small field of flowers. The area around them was dark, illuminated only by the light leaking in from above. This was the underground, for sure; this was the place where they had fallen, where Asriel had found them. They remembered now: They had come here with him to make the plan that would eventually be the end of them.

Chara ate the poisonous flowers and perished. Before their soul could disappear, Asriel absorbed it – which Chara intended to last forever. The two of them should have always been together. They would break the barrier together... and satisfy that thirst Chara could not rid themself of. At least, that was the intention. Something had happened that they still could not recall, leading to their death.

...they hoped Asriel made it home before they did, at least. Maybe... Maybe he was with Mother and Father. Wherever they were. Chara wasn't sure. They looked up to the light above that they had come from before closing their eyes once more and returning to that void. That... Nexus, of sorts.

They would find their parents and speak with them. Yes, that seemed to be the best course of action. They would find their parents, then...

They would...


	2. Ruins

...but somebody came.

In the Nexus was an unconscious human child about Chara's age. Immediately, all they could think of is that they weren't alone, leading them to rush to the child's side and kneel down. Was this kid... dead? What a question, considering Chara didn't even know if they were dead. The kid wore a similar sweater to theirs, blue with two purple stripes, same dark grey pants, same shoes... Their hair was a little shorter, though, a bit of a darker shade of brown and a bit fluffier... Skin somewhat darker than the pale white skin Chara had as a result of the magic within them...

The kid's clothes were almost too similar for comfort. Were they from the same village? Same lab? Chara wanted to reach out and touch them, but didn't want to risk harming them if their skin wasn't as cold... They instead lifted their hand to their face, barely grazing the skin under their left eye. Did they have the same black eye? Were they both dead? Where did they even come from?

There was too much to ask. What if they didn't even wake up?

Almost on cue, they stirred a bit, Chara's eyes widening in response. They hesitantly reached out, careful not to touch them as they grasped their head and rose. "Are you..." Chara began as they lifted their head to look at Chara. They looked normal enough, throwing off Chara with the whole eye thing and what-not, but... "...okay?" Chara concluded after realizing they'd somewhat awkwardly paused. The kid only nodded in response.

As if that wordless reply set something off in Chara, they began shooting off questions: Do you know where we are? (Shake of the head no.) Do you know who you are? (Yes.) Did you die at any point? (...a hesitant no, accompanied by a concerned look.) Are you... are you from a village near Mt. Ebott?

There wasn't an immediate response, as the child seemed to purposely ignore the question suddenly to look around. They stood up, leading Chara to do the same, as walked a few steps away, seeming to look for something. They wordlessly turned to Chara, suddenly... gesturing at them. Slow hand movements at first, but upon seemingly realizing something, they made a gesture like writing on a piece of paper – and that's when Chara realized, "O-Oh... you can't talk?" Another nod. Of course, stuck in a void with a mute... sort of. That led Chara to another important question, "When you close your eyes... and you think of something, like a memory? Can you see a different place from this?"

The kid seemed confused, staring at Chara for a few moments before seeming to try it. They didn't seem to disappear or anything... but they didn't seem to see things differently in the first place, looking at Chara once again and shrugging. "Okay... give me a minute. If I disappear don't freak out, okay? I'll be right back." That said, they closed their eyes and focused on a place... that place where they fell, shimmering into place around them even as they opened their eyes.

But... the kid was still there, turning to examine the area and looking confused. Chara had brought them, too? "So... you see all this, right?" Another nod. "I... I somehow can pull this up from my memories. Oh, but... um... that's new..."

There was... some sort of rectangular object behind the other child. They turned around to see what Chara was talking about and checked it – a floating object with only the word "NEW". They looked back to Chara, who only shrugged and approached to also check it out. "I was here just before I found you and this wasn't here. I wonder what it is..." They stood beside the child, tilting their head, and reached out to touch it –

Not only did their hand go through it completely, as if it weren't there, but Chara suddenly grasped their hand and screamed. Incredible pain shot through them as they tried to retrieve their arm from the floating object, as the other child turned and reached out to grab their arm and pull them away. Almost as soon as Chara was free, though, the child suddenly grasped their own hand and gasped, looking as though they were in less pain – but Chara couldn't notice. They nearly fell to their knees, barely managing to stay up, taking deep breaths as they tried to comprehend what happened. "What... What is... that thing?"

A few moments passed, both children in agony, and it was only when Chara recovered a bit more from what just happened before they realized exactly why the other was in pain. Part of their hand seemed to be covered in a thin layer of ice where they had grabbed Chara, which in an awful way proved Chara was wrong about them being a fellow lab rat, too. They wanted to reach out and wipe the ice away or melt it with their own warmth, yet had none to offer, leaving them with only a, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't- My skin, it's..."

To their surprise, after a few more moments of the child staring at their hand... they looked up at Chara and smiled. "It's okay," their expression seemed to say, yet Chara still repeated, "I'm... I'm really sorry. Just please don't touch me again, or... it'll just happen again." They nodded, still smiling, causing Chara to look away with guilt. "Maybe... maybe you should wrap it up so it'll melt. I-It'll still burn, I think... I'm not sure..."

The child moved in the corner of Chara's eyes, leaving them worried they were going to touch them again for whatever reason, but when Chara looked they were... reaching toward the floating object. "W-Wait! You saw what just happened, it'll hurt you! Be careful! I already hurt you-" But instead of going through the object, their hand landed on it as though it were a solid object, and they... didn't seem to be in pain. "What? Are you-"

The shimmering of the world around them suddenly intensified, startling them both. Without so much as a sound, everything seemed to blur around them and just as suddenly solidify, changing somewhat. The pillars around them vanished, their leaves littering the floor. Underneath the light from the hole in Mt. Ebott above, golden flowers suddenly burst into existence. There was silence. Nothing happened.

"...what in the world?" Chara asked after a few moments, their eyes on the golden flowers. They... they didn't grow down here, did they? They had never grown down here... that's why, to see them...

They were distracted from that thought by the other child, frantically gesturing in their direction. "What? What is it? Did something else happen? The world got weird for a moment, but-" The child shook their head, suddenly reaching forward and causing Chara to flinch away, panicking. But... but instead of touching Chara, their hand... went right through.

They still immediately pulled their hand back, at which point Chara realized while it was the one that had been icy only moments before it was now... perfectly fine, it seemed? The child still shivered, but didn't seem to be frozen, like... like their hand had passed through a ghost. A sudden drop in temperature in an otherwise warm space. Chara's heart sank. "You can see me, right? But... what? You can see through me?" The child confirmed and motioned with their hands trying to convey what they meant as Chara spoke. Well, was that it, then? Maybe... maybe Chara really was dead.

"...great!" they shouted after a few moments, turning away and crossing their arms. "Just great... Just great!" They stormed off into the flowers, suddenly sitting down in them. The other child came over to look at them in concern, and neither of them noticed the slight frost that formed over the petals of the flowers. "If I'm dead, how- Wait, you can see me! I can't be dead! But what if I am dead? I'm at least a ghost... But if I died and now I'm a ghost, what will mom and dad think? What about... what about Asriel... Ugh!" They suddenly fell back into the flower bed, frustrated, yet did not crush them. No effect at all besides the damn frost that they finally noticed because of the flowers around their head. They turned to glare at the icy petals, and among them... found a stick.

The other child seemed to want to say something, staring at them in concern as they head a slight breakdown but having no words to communicate with. They jumped when Chara suddenly lifted themselves up, turning to them and asking, "Can you write?" More nodding. "Good, then here." They motioned toward the ground, making the other child pick it up before pointing at the dirt around the flowers and saying, "I'm Chara. Can you write your name so I know what to call you?"

After staring for a few moments, the child once again smiled and nodded, rushing to do so. Chara curled up in a ball momentarily, hands around their head, thinking what it meant to be dead. What it had meant to be alive. If they were even actually dead or what the hell was going on. But they stood up before they could make the other kid worry, going over to them as they stepped back and happily waited for Chara to read their name.

/F-R-I-S-K/

Chara wasn't sure what to think. They had tried to take the two of them back to the Nexus so they could go to New Home and see if they could find anybody, but... only Chara returned. Only Chara could go to the still-shimmering New Home. They returned to find the entrance to the underground as they had left it, with Frisk near tears wondering why they were suddenly alone. Luckily, the other child seemed to take things in stride, and quickly recovered as they wordlessly, happily welcomed Chara back.

The two of them would have to walk from here to New Home, which was on the total opposite side of the underground... but they hadn't left for there just yet. Chara had been struck by sudden sleepiness. They wondered what could have caused a ghost or whatever to become tired like that so suddenly. Frisk was fine with letting them rest, though, and Chara soon fell asleep in the bed of golden flowers...

They woke with Frisk cuddled up as close as they could get without actually "touching" the translucent figure. They seemed to be asleep... Chara carefully reached out to attempt to carefully touch their cheek, only to go straight through. Frisk shivered a bit, but did not wake immediately, Chara withdrawing to think on things.

They hadn't met another person, making them... feel like they needed to stay near Frisk. The two of them had each other if nothing else. They hadn't really gone anywhere, though... Chara closed their eyes again and sighed. Here where they fell... if only Asriel would walk in and find them again... then things could go back to the way they were before...

Frisk awoke shortly after Chara, and they made their way down the hall and into the ruins. Chara, despite their current state, thought of their family and was filled with determination.

They weren't really sure what to make of what they found in the next room.

A golden flower stuck out of the ground, with a... smiling face on it. Almost as soon as they entered it greeted them, "Howdy! I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower!" The two humans glanced at each other uncertainly before looking back at... "Flowey," who went on, "Hmm... You're new to the Underground, aren'tcha?"

Frisk nodded, while Chara spoke up, "I've lived here before, and was wondering if-" Flowey interrupted them, seeming to ignore them completely, telling Frisk, "Golly, you must be so confused." He... it... whatever it was, it was right about that at least. Chara had no idea what was going on. They were apparently seriously a ghost, they showed up in the same place as Frisk, Frisk wasn't a ghost, and now they were supposed to travel through the Underground on foot all the way to the barrier while Chara was apparently invisible. Thinking of this as they went ignored, they were startled and momentarily panicked when they saw... Frisk's soul.

It was strangely similar to theirs in color, but they only thought about that for a moment, turning to Frisk's physical body. They looked extremely focused, but they weren't injured... "See that heart?" asked Flowey from the center of the room. "That is your soul, the very culmination of your being!" Ah, the flower was explaining the rules of the Underground? Knowledge of Determination and souls was just as common on the surface, something considered important enough to be passed down since the war between humans and monsters hundreds of years ago.

Something not explained, though, was how to project your soul in fights with magical creatures. Long ago, some humans had a form of natural magic – the reason the barrier existed – but when they died out so did the need for physical manifestations of the soul. Chara had learned of this in the lab when they were very young. They had held onto this knowledge in hopes that it made them less of a freak.

"Your soul starts off weak," the flower said, smile never faltering, even as they said, "but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV."

"What the heck!?" Frisk looked over to Chara at their sudden outburst, concerned. The flower said LV stood for LOVE, but Chara knew he was leaving out some of the details. "It stands for Level of Violence, Frisk. Don't listen to him, he's trying to fool you. Those 'friendliness pellets' are thorns – they'll hurt you if you let them touch you." Frisk nodded, which Flowey didn't question as he asked, "Are you ready? Move around!"

And Frisk did, concentrating on the movement of their soul away from the pellets. Flowey wasn't amused, and insisted they try again. After a second failure in hitting their target, he was visibly frustrated, asking, "Is this a joke? Are you braindead? RUN. INTO. THE. BU—er, friendliness pellets!"

A final failure and his look turned sinister.

" ' , d o n ' ?"

Frisk nodded hesitantly, while Chara pointlessly moved in between them and the flower, prepared to defend the living child however they could. " ."

Without any other warning, thorns surrounded the two humans, leaving no space to flee. Frisk pulled their soul close to their chest, but there was no protecting it in a fight like this. "DIE." the flower said, laughing maniacally as the thorns closed in around them. Chara ran at the flower, walking straight through the thorns and screaming "NO!" as they attempted to do something, anything to save Frisk. They focused on their own soul, feeling an absence that shocked them, but nonetheless they reached out their hands and-

Ice barely formed on Flowey's petals. His devilish grin was replaced by a look of confusion, and while he was distracted Chara turned to see the thorns had paused in their movement. When they quickly turned back to Flowey – he suddenly went flying, letting out a brief shriek, fire knocking him to the side of the room where he fell flat on the ground. Was he- was he dead? Would he turn to dust?

This question was interrupted by the sound of an all-too familiar voice: "What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth..." Chara's eyes widened, feeling an ache deep in their chest as they slowly turned to see...

"Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins."

...Mother.

"You are the first human to come here in a long time."

The two humans sat by a pillar as they awaited Toriel's return, having been left behind while she went to... do errands... or something... Chara hadn't been able to focus, following along and only thinking on that, the appearance of their adoptive mother, the fact she'd called herself the caretaker of the ruins... Even now they thought on it while Frisk wrote something on the ground with their stick, trying to focus on too many questions at once.

After saving them, Toriel had told Frisk she would guide them through the ruins. As they left, Chara momentarily stopped to check on their attacker, finding neither flower nor dust in its place. It wasn't dead, and Chara knew they hadn't seen the last of it, but they ignored the awful feeling that went along with that realization and followed along. Of course, Toriel had not been able to see them as she explained to Frisk about puzzles, and mercy, and...

Chara's heart ached terribly, knowing she was within reach and yet...

Why was she here? Where was dad? Where was Asriel?

How long had Chara been gone?

All these things and more bothered them to the point they weren't paying attention, leading them to jump when Frisk reached out to "touch" them. Chara turned to look in the dirt, where a question was asked: "Can I call her Mom, too?" A small heart was drawn next to it, and Frisk was smiling innocently. Chara's first reaction was an unintentionally scornful laugh. "What? I mean, I guess. Just don't forget whose mom she really is." When they caught up with their words and tone, though, and saw how their smile faltered, almost becoming a frown before becoming... an understanding smile... they shrunk back a bit, hugging their legs as they said, "...it's fine. I'm sorry. It's just... upsetting. You get it."

Frisk nodded to signal that they did understand, and quickly erased their words with their shoe. They continued to write once things were clear, and Chara let out a long sigh as they patiently waited. Frisk was the only person who could see them and Chara was being a dick about it. Because of their own decisions. Because of their own mistakes. Frisk waved their hand in front of Chara's face to get their attention again not long after.

"Do you want me to tell her you're here?"

...Chara wasn't sure, honestly. They considered it as they stared for a few moments. Here they were, the ghost of Toriel's adopted child. They had likely hurt her so much with what they'd done, irreparably shattering her and dad's hearts. They had even endangered Asriel's life just because they couldn't accept their fate. And at the same time, Chara thought – no, they knew. She'd love to hear they were there. Even if she couldn't see them, being able to communicate through Frisk would be a joy for both of them. They could get clearer answers from her if she just knew Chara was there. Probably.

"I'll... consider it. While it could be helpful, I don't know if it's a good idea yet. In the meantime... Don't you think we should head after her? She's taking a while, but the ruins only go on for so long. We'd catch up with her eventually." Frisk looked a bit disapproving, which Chara responded to by saying, "Don't give me that look, I know what she said! But we're going to get there eventually anyway, so we might as well go now!"

Written in the ground after a little more erasing was, "Isn't it dangerous?"

"Maybe a little, but... monsters are nice! Usually... They were acting a bit strange. I promise, though, if you're kind to them, most of them will understand you mean no harm. If you really think it's too dangerous, though, we can continue to wait for Mom." Then again, she wasn't really here to protect them... so going on ahead could put Frisk's life at stake. "...that's probably the best option. If the monsters are aggressive, putting yourself at risk just to try and get by them without hurting anybody would be-"

Frisk quickly shook their head, though, putting their hands up in front of them. Their red soul, similar to the one Chara had lost, appeared in front of them with the numbers "20/20" floating, shimmering in front of it. It was... honestly bizarre. Chara had never seen such a thing. "What... is that?" They reached out to touch the numbers, but Frisk immediately made the soul disappear, waving their hands frantically at Chara to warn them away. Maybe it was like that thing from before and would injure them? Either way, Frisk explained as well as they could with just their hands: When the number was twenty, apparently, they were fine (explained with two thumbs up), but when it was zero...

Oh. Oh dear.

"Frisk, how do you know this? What if you get hurt? You shouldn't risk it!" Their warnings were ignored as Frisk picked up their stick and started walking, forcing the ghost to follow. "Frisk? Frisk, please!"

In the next room was a Froggit who pleaded with Frisk to spare monsters, which they seemed to happily agree to. (Which was honestly a relief on Chara's end, but they were still worried about Frisk's safety.) They took a short break to roll around in some leaves, leaving the ghost child maybe a bit concerned with how seriously they were taking things at the moment, momentarily pausing with their back to Chara. When Chara called out for them, though, Frisk lifted themselves up, smiling and deciding to continue on without explanation.

This was going to be a long trip, that was for sure.

A candy box told Frisk to take one piece of candy. They took two.

"Horrible! Disgusting! How could you! Whoever put that there obviously trusted you and you just..." Frisk shook their head, frantically gesturing at Chara, who reminded them, "While it's a nice sentiment I'm a ghost. I don't need to eat, but... you need to go to monster jail."

...After a few moments, they both laughed. "...thanks for thinking of me, though."

They proceeded through the ruins slowly, facing monsters and getting through the encounters and puzzles easily enough. Frisk was so friendly to the monsters, with a little mercy they could usually get away without a problem. At one point they got a call from Toriel on the cell phone she'd given Frisk – which they apparently discussed in sign language while Chara wasn't even paying attention – who asked for some reason... what kind of pie they liked. Before Frisk could press a button to answer, however...

"...wait. Do not tell me. Is it cinnamon?" They hesitated, and then pressed one of the phone's buttons once. "Hehehe. I had a feeling. When humans fall down here, strangely... I... I often feel like I already know them. Truthfully, when I first saw you, I felt... like I was seeing an old friend for the first time. Strange, is it not? Well, thank you for your selection."

Chara wondered if Frisk made Toriel think of them. In a way... it made them bitter.

On the way they met a talking rock. While Frisk seemed startled, Chara wasn't fazed at all. "The sign said three out of four rocks wanted you to push them, right? This one obviously didn't. So it's rude to push it without asking." With some difficulty, Frisk managed to ask through gestures for it to move to the position they needed it to be in, and the humans finally continued on their way.

They soon stumbled across a table with some cheese on it, a nearby mouse hole in the wall emitting squeaking noises every so often. The cheese seemed to be melted onto the table. "One day... maybe the mouse will reach the top of this table and get the cheese," Chara said, nodding to themself as if it was a sure thing. When they turned to get Frisk's opinion on the matter, Chara noticed them... staring at the ground next to the table. "Is something wrong?"

Yet Frisk turned to them and smiled, as if nothing was weird, and continued on their way. Chara was starting to wonder about this kid. Did they just have a habit of spacing out? "Are you okay?" A nod in response. "Are you sure? You seemed to be... distracted?" They shrugged, though Chara wasn't exactly sure at which part. Still, the two of them kept walking.

They eventually stumbled upon a ghost that was... "sleeping." "Should we force it to move...? You could just go through it..." Frisk shook their head furiously, as if the very idea was unthinkable. "You're right, I guess that'd be even ruder..." Frisk waved their hands over the ghost's face until it woke up and inevitably attacked. The ghost seemed sad, though, and in between dodging its many tears Frisk tried to comfort it. When they created a hat out of their tears, Frisk encouraged them with a warm smile and thumbs up, and Chara nodded as they said, "Pretty nice..."

"oh no... i usually come to the ruins because there's nobody around... but today i met some nice people..." Chara's eyes widened, wondering if the ghost meant... them? Before they could ask, though, the ghost said, "oh, i'm rambling again... i'll get out of your way..." and disappeared, clearing the way. Chara just sighed, saying, "They might not be the best option, but... no offense, it'd be nice to talk to more than just you for a bit." Frisk just smiled in understanding. That was... probably when Chara noticed how darn smiley they were all the time...

It was a bit... unnerving? At least it wasn't constant. When Chara "wasn't looking," though, Frisk honestly seemed a bit tired. They weren't frowning, but they looked potentially distressed. Which definitely made sense, considering everything they'd been through so far. Waking up in a strange void without a clue of why, ending up in the underground that was long rumored to be a death sentence for humans. And who knows what had happened to them before any of this. With the monsters attacking, too, they probably didn't have a very good first impression of the underground...

In the next room, there was... a spider bake sale going on. That was nice, Chara supposed, but they never saw it. Frisk happily bought a donut from them while Chara waited in the other room. Not that they outright hated spiders, but the sight of them... creeped them out a bit. "It's the eyes," Chara confirmed when Frisk finally left the room. "But I guess it's better I stay away, anyway. If I accidentally froze any of them they could die."

Finally, after a bit more walking, they came upon another froggit, that told Frisk to come close. While it seemed suspicious, the froggit didn't attack, instead telling them, "Just between you and me... I saw Toriel come out of here just a little while ago. I didn't ask what they were for..." It looked uncomfortable as it said, "We're all too intimidated to talk to her."

The children went out onto the balcony, Frisk going off to the side while Chara looked out over the ruins. Was mother here alone? Wasn't she lonely? She was the queen, so that was probably what intimidated everybody, but... She shouldn't be here at all. She should be back home, with Dad and...

Chara was distracted by something waving in their face, caught off-guard when they realized it was a knife. "What, what?! Where did you- did you find that? That's dangerous!" However, Frisk shook their head and quickly demonstrated... it wasn't real. It was a toy, made of plastic. Chara sighed in relief. "It's not like you need it anyway. Just put it up somewhere!" Frisk placed it on the edge of the balcony, nodding, looking kind of... disappointed? Chara sighed and turned away, saying, "Let's... just go. Mom might be looking for us by now."

As they walked away, they didn't notice Frisk picking the knife back up before hurrying after them.

Finally, they made it to an old, leafless tree in the center of a yard. Coming from around it was Toriel, who was muttering about taking longer than she meant to and hurriedly dialing on her phone. She was surprised to find it ringing close by, and hung up as she rushed over to Frisk. "How did you get here, my child? Are you hurt?"

To even Chara's surprise, Frisk was perfectly fine. They were sure the living child had gotten hit a few times early on, but they were in perfect condition. The two of them began to follow Toriel while Chara pondered this. Maybe they just ate some of the monster candy while they weren't looking? They still had the spider donut, at least...

Frisk paused to stare at some leaves just outside the house, but Chara continued on, figuring at this point they were just easily distracted or something.

"Do you smell that? Surprise! It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I thought we might celebrate your arrival. I want you to have a nice time living here." Too distracted by the fact Toriel really was living in the ruins, and in a place creepily similar to their former home, Chara missed the look of discomfort that appeared on Frisk's face. "So I will hold off on snail pie for tonight. Here, I have another surprise for you," Toriel said as she took Frisk's hand and led them into the hall.

The hall was just as familiar as the room before, and it was little surprise to Chara when she stopped outside a specific room and said, "This is it... A room of your own. I hope you like it!" While Frisk stared at the door, processing the information just given to them, Toriel pet their head, making Chara admittedly... a bit jealous, perhaps. They didn't say anything about it, feeling it was silly. "Is something burning...? Um, make yourself at home!" With that, Toriel ran back to the previous room, towards where Chara knew the kitchen was. This was too bizarre.

The two children went into the room, which despite feeling familiar was... a bit different from what they remembered. There was only one bed, and... a lot of kids' shoes? A lot of toys? They looked through the many things in the room, not really sure what to think, as Frisk dug through various drawers. When they finally turned to ask what they were looking for, Frisk was already holding up a... notebook.

A notebook with five words: "Do you want more answers?"

"Q. Why are you here?"

"A. I came to the mountain and fell in."

"Q. Why did you come to the mountain?"

"A. I had to."

The answer baffled Chara. "Why?" they asked aloud, while Frisk stared at them, looking more serious than they had previously. They began writing and returned the notebook to Chara after a few moments.

"Something called for me, so I came. I thought it was strange. I wonder now if it's because of you and thought that is why I found you. But the tug comes from elsewhere."

"That makes sense. I mean... I wasn't awake until just before you got here. Or just after? I'm not sure..." Chara shook their head, wondering about it but having more questions in mind. "That aside... Did you come from the village near Mt. Ebott?" A nod. That's what they'd feared. Chara wanted to ask if they were still continuing the experiments they had done long ago, but... they didn't know if they could handle that knowledge. They didn't want to upset Frisk possibly, either, if they were anything like them. So instead they asked, "...do you... do you have a family?"

The response was a nod, accompanied by a somewhat sad smile. Part of Chara was relieved, but... that pained expression had them curious. They wouldn't ask.

Not wanting to ask anything else for the moment, Chara suggested they explore. The two of them first went to Toriel's room, where Chara made a mental note of the queen-sized bed. Dad definitely wasn't here with her, even though they'd held out hope this entire time that he would be... They peeked into Toriel's open journal, finding nothing but puns about various things, and after laughing at a few Chara noted, "It's... It's really nice to know she hasn't really changed at all. Even though circumstances obviously have..."

They continued down the hall past a room that was undergoing renovations, and ended up at the mirror. While Chara had looked into this mirror previously and noticed their slight appearance change, now they could not see themselves at all. "I wonder why my eye is black now. Do you have any idea?" Frisk only shrugged, though, which wasn't very surprising.

When they returned to the bedroom, Frisk immediately went to sit and write something, holding up a page that just said, "I'm tired." Chara hadn't even thought of it, but... they were dead. Did they even need sleep? "Oh, um... okay. You should sleep then. I'll just hang out here or go back to where we met for a while." Frisk looked at them with a bit of concern, but they assured, "I'll be fine! Really. I could use some time alone to take this all in anyway."

Frisk continued to stare at them, but eventually gave in and nodded. Chara watched as they went to lay down and snuggle up in the blankets, smiling a bit as they sighed and tried to relax. This had to be a lot for them. Chara remembered when they fell into the ruins, injuring themselves badly in the fall... if not for Asriel finding them, they surely would have died alone. They felt maybe it'd have been better that way, but...

"...good night, Frisk." Chara whispered as Frisk settled in. They turned away and sighed, closing their eyes and focusing... returning to the void they'd woken up in.

They stood there a few moments without knowing what to do.

And then, with everything settling in slowly, they fell to their knees, collapsing into quiet sobs...

...When Frisk woke up, they were alone. They rubbed their eyes, listening to the peaceful sound of a music box from somewhere. The tune was unfamiliar – maybe one of their siblings had brought back a new one? How long had they been asleep? They felt like they had a strange dream...

...when they opened their eyes, they saw the unfamiliar room. They quickly remembered... it was no dream.

They clenched their fists a moment, not sure how to feel. They could feel the toy knife pressed against their skin under their clothes. Toriel was nice to them. She was Chara's mother. All the other monsters were nice. Frisk didn't think they'd have to use it, even now, but... it was just a precautionary thing anyway.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

On the floor, near the bed... was a slice of the pie Toriel had spoken of, on a small plate. They weren't particularly hungry, despite not eating anything so far... They figured they'd just go wrap it up after talking to Toriel, so they picked the plate up and headed off in the unexplored direction of the house.

They only paused a moment to look at the stairs.

When Toriel saw them entering the room, she smiled, setting her book down in her lap and saying, "Up already, I see?" Frisk smiled back, nodding, setting the pie down on the table for a moment in case they had a reason to speak to her at the moment. "Um, I want you to know how glad I am to have someone here," she went on, "There are... so many old books I want to share. I want to show you my favorite bug-hunting spot. I've also prepared a curriculum for your education!"

There was a mixture of excitement and sadness in her tone. Frisk could only think of Chara, this poor woman's dead child... If only she knew. Frisk had lost their father, but they could only imagine the pain he would've felt had it been the other way around.

"This may come as a surprise to you... but I have always wanted to be a teacher." Toriel paused a moment, eyebrows scrunching up as she thought about what she said, and she added, "...actually, perhaps that isn't very surprising. STILL." She smiled once more, for a moment looking happier than she had the entire time Frisk had been with her. "I am glad to have you living here."

After confirming with Toriel they didn't need anything, they went to go wrap the pie up in the kitchen. They poked around a bit, but found nothing but chocolate in the fridge and fur in the sink. There was nothing really in here.

Including... Chara.

Frisk hadn't seen them since they woke up. They leaned against the counter, wondering if they were okay. Wondering what they should. They couldn't stay here – they had to keep going. If not to return to their home on the surface, then to do what they'd aimed to do in the first place. But how were they supposed to get out? If they asked Toriel they'd break her heart. Chara may not want to leave. Frisk knew that... they'd be happy here. They could be happy here.

But... there were things they had to do. They had to remain... determined.

That's how they'd gotten this far, after all. They wondered if Chara couldn't see the save points because they weren't determined enough or because they were a ghost. Frisk wasn't going to mention it anyway, considering the whole system was crazy enough without the idea of progress saving. But... if they died...

They had to keep going. They had to live.

They had to get out.

So, hesitantly, they went back to Toriel and signed those inevitable words: "How do I exit the ruins?"

Her eyes widened for a moment, but then she smiled. A fake, worried smile. She stood up quickly, startling Frisk, and told them, "...I have to do something. Stay here." With that, she hurried away, leaving Frisk no time to grab onto her and say anything else. They hesitated to go after her, taking a few steps before pausing. Looking to the bookshelf, where a single book stood out. They stepped toward it and picked it up.

It was a history book... They opened to a random page. "Trapped behind the barrier and fearful of further human attacks, we retreated. Far, far into the earth we walked, until we reached the cavern's end. This was our new home, which we named... 'Home.' As great as our king is, he is pretty lousy at names."

Frisk's heart ached a bit, knowing humans like them had caused the monsters such pain. Even so, they'd been so... accepting. Frisk had befriended so many of them, despite needing Chara's help at times. Their kindness...

It filled Frisk with Determination.

They finally chased after Toriel, knowing exactly where she had gone without even thinking about it. And it wasn't long before they met up with her in the hallway of the basement. "You wish to know how to return 'home,' do you not? Ahead of us lies the end of the ruins. A one-way exit to the rest of the underground. I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be a good child and go upstairs." She continued walking, but Frisk ran after her. They wouldn't let her do this.

She paused again, turning to look at Frisk sadly. "Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again... and again... They come. They leave. They die."

She could see the look in their eyes. She knew they wouldn't back down. But what she didn't know, what she didn't see, was Chara, appearing very suddenly between them. Chara, who looked back and forth between the two of them, turning to Frisk specifically to ask, "What are-"

But Toriel continued on.

"You naïve child... If you leave the ruins... They...

Asgore... Will kill you..."

Chara's eyes widened as Toriel once again smiled sadly. "I am only protecting you, do you understand? ...go to your room." This time, as she turned to walk away, it was Chara who chased after her, asking what she meant despite their words being lost on her. At the sight of Chara, Frisk had faltered slightly. What were they going to do? They... they couldn't let this happen. But they couldn't hurt Toriel. Especially not with Chara there.

As they caught up, Toriel did not turn to look at them, only saying, "Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning."

She proceeded to the door. Both children, desperate and afraid, followed her there.

"You want to leave so badly? Hmph. You are just like the others." Chara's eyes widened. Others? What others? All the children's things in the room, the separation from father, saying he would kill Frisk... what had happened since they died? They wanted to scream and ask her, but they knew it wouldn't help anything.

They had stayed in the void crying for a long time. But they had also been thinking... maybe Frisk was the hope the monsters of the underground needed.

But it wasn't that simple now.

"There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself... Prove to me you are strong enough to survive!"

Without seeming to think about it, Chara moved in between them. They turned to Frisk with such a desperate look, Frisk was a bit... startled. Toriel's voice behind Chara asked, "...wait. Why are you looking at me like that? Like you have seen a ghost." Chara's eyes conveyed a feeling of pain Frisk had never felt so... intensely. "Do you know something that I do not?" They did. They knew of her suffering child who could not communicate their presence, who could not reassure her everything would be okay. Who could not do for her what she'd done for them long ago. Who could not take back their mistakes. "...no. That is impossible."

Frisk looked beyond Chara, at Toriel. Their soul appeared, the battle beginning, and as they focused again on their friend...

Chara could only look them in the eye and hopelessly plead, "Frisk... She doesn't know what she's doing... She's scared, and hurt, but... she doesn't want to hurt you... Please... don't... don't hurt my mother anymore...!"

They felt the knife against their skin.

There was an easy way out of this.

They smiled.

And used mercy.

It was hard at times to avoid Toriel's fire attacks. Frisk continued to dodge without attacking, sparing her every chance they got. They would not fight.

"What are you doing? Attack or run away! What are you proving this way? Fight me or leave!" Toriel's continued to speak as she attacked, but when Frisk looked to her they did not show their fear. They did not show their doubt. They smiled at her patiently. "Stop it. Stop looking at me that way!" Her attacks became more intense as she screamed, "Go away!" Frisk worried for a moment they could not avoid them, but...

Quickly realized despite the onslaught of fire magic heading toward them, every attack was missing as if on purpose. Toriel, for a few moments, became silent as Frisk stood there and looked at her, their soul in perfect position for her to attack. They stood their ground. They would remain determined.

And Chara, who had only been able to watch, useless in the face of Toriel's flames, stood beside them.

The fire died down.

"I know you want to go home, but... Please, go upstairs now. I promise I will take good care of you here. I know we do not have much, but... we can have a good life here." Frisk stepped toward her, smiling. It was clear their mind was made up. "W-Why are you making this so difficult? Please, go... upstairs..."

Frisk stopped right in front of her, looking up at her, with Chara slightly behind them. Toriel stared back down at them and... after a moment, she laughed. "Pathetic, is it not? I cannot save even a single child. ...no, I understand. You would just be unhappy trapped down here. The ruins are very small once you get used to them. It would not be right for you to grow up in a place like this."

The monster woman sighed, and kneeled down to look Frisk in the eye. There was something in her gaze like recognition, and she was obviously close to tears as she said, "My expectations... My loneliness... My fear... For you, my child...

I will put them aside."

Frisk's soul returned to them as it ended. Toriel stood again, shoulders slumped, not looking directly at Frisk anymore. "If you truly wish to leave the ruins... I will not stop you. However, when you leave... please do not come back. I hope you understand."

She once again leaned down to hug Frisk tightly, holding them for a few moments as they reached around her to return the gesture. Chara could only watch, ignoring the familiar pain in their chest as Toriel told Frisk, "Goodbye, my child." To Chara... it felt like something they themselves had needed to hear. They would not burden their mother with knowledge of their existence. This was likely... the last time they'd ever see her.

She nearly left, Frisk staring at the door without looking back, when she turned to look at them one last time. Without them looking, she had a frown on her face, one that worried Chara. Could they... could they really just leave like this? She walked away, but Chara immediately turned to ask Frisk, "...can we follow her? Please? I can't leave things like this. There may be nothing I can do, but..."

Frisk continued to stare at the door, and Chara was worried they would not agree. But they finally nodded. She was nowhere in the house above, but while they were there Frisk packed a bag with all the things they had collected, sneaking in the toy knife. They took the piece of the pie that had been left for them, figuring they'd save it for later. One last reminder. And finally they took the notebook, figuring it was the easiest way of communicating with Chara.

Eventually they went all the way back to where they had started, finding Toriel again. She seemed surprised when she saw Frisk, who signed something to her that Chara couldn't understand, but smiled. "Do not worry about me. Somebody has to take care of these flowers." Without looking at them anymore, she turned back to stare at them. The children looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

Chara stepped forward and, careful not to go through her, hugged her as best they could. It was the only thing left for them to do.

It was time to leave.

And as they did, neither saw when Toriel bowed her head and began to cry, remembering all too well that familiar, cold embrace of her child...


	3. Snowdin

What lied beyond the door was Chara's favorite place, they knew. But even so, as the children stood there beside each other, both were hesitant to go through into the Underground, knowing it would be difficult. And yet it was the only way to return Frisk home, to learn what was truly going on here.

They exited into a long hallway, and before they came upon the snowy area ahead of them they again met with the flower. "Clever," it said, "verrryyy clever. You think you're really smart, don't you?"

"Don't listen to it, Frisk. It's not... it's not normal. It doesn't seem like a monster." Chara's own soul wasn't with them, but somehow they could tell... this flower did not have a soul either. It continued to smile, but squinted a bit, looking normally at Frisk but sometimes glancing to the side. Was it looking at them? Could it somehow see them...?

"...in this world," it went on, suspiciously glancing aside every few seconds but continuing to keep up the charade anyway, "it's kill, or be killed. So you were able to play by your own rules!" Its face twisted as it had previously, its voice distorting as it said, "You spared the life o n. Hee hee hee..."

They hadn't killed a single monster, and didn't plan on it. "It's just wasting its time," Chara said, before the flower's face returned to normal, looking somewhat amused as it looked... directly at the ghost child. "I bet you feel really great. You didn't kil y... this time." The child's eyes widened. If it knew they were here, did it know... about... "What will you do if you meet a relentless killer? You'll die. And you'll die. And you'll die. Until you tire of trying! What will you do then...?"

Its face distorted even more than before as it laughed, "Will you kill out of frustration? Or will you give up entirely on this world... and let ME inherit the power to control it?" Chara could see vines shifting in the darkness around them, the single illuminated area where Flowey sat otherwise distracting from the fact he could attack at any moment. "I am the prince of this world's future," the flower went on, eyes shifting again to Chara, "Don't worry, my little monarch, my plan isn't regicide."

At last, it turned its eyes to Frisk one last time to say, "This is SO much more interesting," before its crazed laugh rang out and it disappeared into the ground, leaving the children alone.

Leaving them both... confused, honestly. "He can... he can definitely see me! At least... a little. He looked like he was struggling." Chara closed their eyes, thinking on his words. He knew who they were, too...? He referred to them as a monarch, but... "What is he? How would he know that? I don't... Ugh! This doesn't make sense! What is he planning anyway?!" They trudged forward without another word, Frisk looking at them in concern but merely following behind.

Together, they went out into the cold of the Snowdin forest. They decided to rest there for a few minutes, giving time for Chara to think on even more confusing things.

"Mother said... there were more children." Chara leaned against the closed door, trying to think on what little they'd heard. "She said Dad was going to kill you! Dad couldn't kill anybody! But Mom...!" They slowly slumped to the ground, covering their head with their arms as they muttered, "She wouldn't lie... She wouldn't lie about that... Why is she saying this? Why is she saying these things?"

Frisk reached out to hopelessly attempt to touch Chara, but they lowered their arms, revealing the tears on their face. "She... did she adopt all those other children? Like she was going to with you? There's nothing of me or Ri in the house. Nothing... nothing... Did I mean nothing to her? Am I just another shoe in her box?"

There had always been something about their adoptive parents that... drove Chara away. They were closer to Asriel than them, but they figured it was some distrust of adults. Maybe they'd been right about it.

...no, they couldn't think that way. Toriel had taken them in and protected them. Toriel had fed them and loved them when they knew no love in their life. Her warmth, both in personality and in magic, kept them warm when they knew nothing all their life but this coldness they could not rid themself of. She was their mother. She was in pain. Thinking back on her words, Chara knew she probably felt as though she was to blame for Chara's death. She thought herself pathetic because she could not protect a single child.

...so what had happened to Asriel?

"W-We have to keep going," they said, wiping the tears from their face and quickly standing up. Frisk nodded as Chara walked ahead, but paused to stare at the bush next to the ruin door when they saw it. Was that something shining there...? "Come on, Frisk!" They turned their head to see Chara further down the dark road, and ran after them to catch up. The two of them were... determined to go on, despite what had just occurred.

The road they were on, however, was... creepy, to say the very least. "People used to travel back and forth between Snowdin and the Ruins all the time," Chara told Frisk, "especially when I first got here. Monsters were just moving out into the snow through Home. We got to see different monsters all the time. I met a lot of people." They smiled thinking about it, but immediately frowned after a few seconds when they heard a loud cracking noise. They turned around quickly to see a branch they'd just passed... now split in half. "...Frisk, something's here."

The living child turned and saw nothing, holding up the notebook in their arms to write, "What is it?" Chara shook their head, not knowing, but mentioned they should definitely hurry along. The forest could be dangerous now...

Something moved in the corner of their eyes, startling both of them, causing them to speed up. As they reached the bridge near the end of the path, however... footsteps behind them... slowly crept up... Frisk froze up, too afraid to look back, and for a moment Chara almost did the same, but... they had a responsibility. They couldn't be attacked – at least they were pretty sure – so they turned around to see... "...it's... a skeleton."

A small skeleton in a blue jacket, slowly walking up, but not looking very threatening. Once he was directly behind Frisk, he said in a low tone, " n."

Frisk wasn't sure what to do, but looking to Chara... the ghost child nodded. They turned around before being prompted, looking at the figure which held out a single bony hand. Figuring it'd be best to make a good first impression on the first monster out here – out here, where things were dangerous enough Toriel had wanted to protect them from it – they reached out their hand as well to grab it.

A loud... farting noise rang out. They stared in confusion. Chara stared in confusion. The skeleton laughed, though, mentioning the old whoopee cushion gag as both children looked in disbelief. Was this supposed to be scary? Had they really been afraid of him? He asked if Frisk had heard it before, though... "you turned around before i said to... weird." Chara scratched the back of their head, knowing it was really their fault Frisk turned around early, but Frisk just continued to look at the skeleton, not sure what to expect. "...whatever. you're a human, right? i'm sans. sans the skeleton. im actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. but... y'know... i don't really care about capturing anybody."

Frisk's eyes widened. Capturing? Is that what had happened to all the other children Toriel had mentioned? Were they captured and killed by the King? They looked in the corner of their eye, seeing Chara's stunned face. They knew nothing of it either.

"now my brother, papyrus... he's a human-hunting FANATIC. hey, actually, I think that's him over there. i have an idea. go through this gate thingy." Frisk turned around, looking at the... gate? Fence? It didn't look like it would stop anybody, leading them to look back at sans for confirmation. "yeah, go right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone." Without giving them much choices, Sans suddenly pushed Frisk along through the bars, with Chara yelling after them in concern. "quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp."

It took Frisk, reeling from being pushed down the rest of the path, a moment to comprehend what he meant, but when they saw it they quickly went to hide behind it and attempt not to move.

Chara had followed along, and after making sure Frisk was safe watched the scene unfold before them.

A taller skeleton – Papyrus – came along, scolding Sans for his supposed laziness. Sans suggested multiple times Papyrus check out the lamp, leading both children to panic, but the taller skeleton was so worked up he didn't even bother. He went on and on about being the one to capture a human so he, the Great Papyrus, would get all the things he deserved! Respect, recognition, finally joining the royal guard... Chara knew some monsters from the royal guard. They weren't... nearly this ridiculous, from what they knew.

Several bad puns later, Papyrus ran off, laughing as he ran off. Sans signaled shortly after for Frisk to come out. "you oughta get going. he might come back. and if he does... you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes." With that, he winked, Chara noticing Frisk's smile. They turned to leave, motioning at Chara when Sans wasn't looking, but before they could get very far Sans called after them, "actually, hey... hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor? i was thinking... my brother's been kind of down lately... he's never seen a human before." Which further confused the children, considering how sure he seemed he'd catch one. "and seeing you might just make his day. don't worry, he's not dangerous. even if he tries to be."

The two kids looked at each other with uncertainty. "I mean... you could handle mom just fine. She was holding back, but she's still a lot stronger than most monsters. Even if he tries, I think you can handle him... you just need to be careful." Frisk nodded, and turned to nod at Sans as Chara shouted, "Fine, but you better be right about this, bonehead!" They honestly just needed to make a pun, but...

Sans wasn't looking at Frisk. He was looking in the completely opposite direction as he said, as if seeing Frisk's nod or hearing Chara's words, "thanks a million. i'll be up ahead." And with that, he turned to head the other way.

"...what a weirdo."

...and so began the rest of their journey.

Chara found themself able to relax a bit easier once they'd gone a little further, both children agreeing to stop up ahead when they came to a split in the path. Frisk kneeled down next to a tree for a few moments, seeming to look at something, while Chara went on ahead to examine the box nearby.

Frisk rushed over before they could read the sign next to the box, holding up a drawing of a weird... star-like thing. Underneath were the words, "The convenience of that lamp still fills you with Determination!" For whatever reason, they looked pleased, prompting the ghost child to ask, "Why do you keep stopping everywhere? What is that even supposed to be?"

They only shrugged. Chara sighed, turning to read the sign. "This is a box. You can put an item inside or take an item out. The same box will appear later, so don't worry about coming back. Sincerely, a box lover." That didn't seem suspicious at all. Who was taking this box to different places along the way so they could use it?

"Well, I'll go see what's up there," they said, pointing to the path that turned left from where they were originally going. "Store whatever you might need to. Snowdin is up ahead, so if you need to you can buy more stuff from their shop. Just be careful about what you put away." Frisk nodded, going to sit by the box as they pulled their bag off their shoulder. They opened it as Chara walked away, making sure they were far enough away before putting the toy knife in there. They should've just thrown it away, but... just in case?

No. They'd decided not to hurt anybody. They were going to stick by that and get out of here without fighting.

They put the spider donut and butterscotch pie inside, figuring they didn't need so many sweets anyway. Hopefully they'd still be good by the time Frisk retrieved them. Also within the box... a glove? A boxing glove of some sort. Figuring they had no use for it – if anything, they still had a stick! – they closed the box and followed Chara...

Only to run into them as they returned. "There's nothing but a river up there. And the fishing poll of a desperate monster. But hey, I found out I could breathe underwater! ...don't ask why I found that out."

...they continued on their way, heading forward on their original path.

They ran straight back into the skeletons.

"SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE," Papyrus was saying as they approached, giving each other nervous glances as they wondered whether or not to trust Sans. Within just a few seconds they were noticed, the taller skeleton turning in their direction before both brothers began to look back and forth between the human in front of them and the skeleton next to them, eventually... spinning around wildly without pause. When they finally stopped, both turned around to whisper, though they were loud enough the kids could still hear. "SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT... A HUMAN!?"

The two of them turned back around and both pairs ended up staring at each other, Sans letting out a long "uhhh..." before breaking it to his brother, "actually, i think that's a rock." Chara, confused, looked around and indeed did see a rock, but didn't expect Papyrus to fall for that.

So they were a bit concerned for the skeleton when they heard his loud "OH."

Sans, remaining casual as Frisk tried not to smirk, asked his brother, "hey, what's that in front of the rock?" Papyrus turned to them once more and again seemed amazed, exclaiming suddenly, "OH MY GOD!"

He turned to whisper to his brother, still uncertain, "IS... IS THAT A HUMAN?" Sans replied with a simple "yes," leading Papyrus to again exclaim, even louder, "OH MY GOD!" Excitedly he carried on this time, unable to form hardly a full sentence, "SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL... I'M GONNA... I'LL BE SO... POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!"

Suddenly he cut himself off, as if realizing his behavior wasn't entirely appropriate for somebody who was supposed to be capturing the human in front of him. He cleared his... throat? Before finally declaring, "HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN... THEN!" He paused a moment, looking off to the side uncertainly, before admitting, "I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT. IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE... ONLY IF YOU DARE!" With that he once again ran off, laughing, "NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Sans looked after him, then looked back to Frisk to say, "well, that went well." Frisk, having by now realized if anything Papyrus was mostly just silly, looked back at the short skeleton, who shrugged as he assured, "don't sweat it, kid. i'll keep an eyesocket out for ya." With that, he winked and walked off, in the right direction this time, leaving Frisk behind.

...leading Chara to say aloud, "Wait, how did he even get here?" But neither of them could really answer that beyond... "Probably magic."

They stopped briefly at Papyrus's sentry station up ahead, running into a monster named Snowdrake when they tried to continue on. After laughing at his jokes, successfully reassuring him he was at least somewhat funny – though Chara, having a bit of a thing against ice-related puns, was obviously trying not to snicker – they carried on to the next sentry station, passing by a sign that said, "Absolutely NO MOVING!"

Having ignored the sign almost completely, knowing that wasn't an option, they ran into... an oddly-dressed dog monster who wasn't very pleased with their moving. Having outright told them he could only see things that moved, Frisk stood still as he searched for them, his shifty eyes uncertain as he tried to find them. His weapons, glowing blue, passed right through the still human's soul as he searched, Chara momentarily panicking as it made contact but breathing a side of relief when they remembered what blue magic could do.

When he was close enough, but still could not see them, Frisk carefully reached out and pet his head. To say he was excited was an understatement. But once that wore off, he seemed a bit fearful that something had pet him without moving, and sank back into his sentry station for some dog treats. "...Snowdin's a bit more lively than it used to be," was all Chara said as they continued along into what used to be the quiet, snowy forest.

They ran into Sans up ahead, who informed them of blue attacks – which was a good little run-through for Frisk, considering Chara forgot to even mention it. Frisk went ahead, sliding on the ice, but before Chara could follow they were stopped by a mumbled, "hey, kid."

Their eyes widened. They turned back to the skeleton who still didn't look in their direction, but said, "yeah, you. anybody else caught on?"

"Ex... cuse me? Caught on to what?" How could he see them? Turning back to Frisk for a moment, they were still continuing on, trying not to slip, giggling about a sign they found in the middle of the ice before heading north to whatever was off the main path.

"you, kid. anybody seen you yet?" He looked away from them, taking a step in the opposite direction. Was he going to leave before he could tell them anything? "besides the obvious. ghosts don't count, kid. no offense."

"There was... one, but it wasn't a monster. I don't know... what it... How can you see me?" Did this mean he'd heard them before when they called out to him? Is that why he replied?

But Sans merely shrugged, walking off in the direction they'd come from, saying, "k. just checking. your friend's coming back this way, kid."

And sure enough, when they turned to look, Frisk was heading back and... stuffing snow in their bag for whatever reason. Wouldn't that ruin it? Or anything inside? But... wait, no, they couldn't think about that now. They turned back to Sans, saying, "But wait, you didn't-" Too late. He was already gone. "...what was that about? If you're going to ignore me, then ignore me completely..."

Frisk questioned what they'd been doing, but Chara sighed, saying, "Wasting my time. I just got... distracted for a minute. Why'd you get that snow?" As they wrote down a reply, talking about a talking snowman up north, Chara glanced back in the direction Sans had disappeared in. They weren't going to bother trying to talk to him, especially while Frisk was around.

Papyrus, up ahead, had a shock maze puzzle that failed horribly. Sans, now there despite having gone the other way yet again, thanked Frisk as his brother seemed to be having fun. He then told them Papyrus's outfit was from a costume party, which seemed a tad ridiculous, but Sans... thought it was cool.

How sweet. Chara narrowed their eyes at him for the whole conversation, however, and when he asked Frisk, "isn't my brother cool?" he looked to the side at them. Chara was tired of these weird people either not acknowledging them directly or just being obnoxious.

Up ahead, Frisk bought some Nice Cream, won a ball game with a blue flag, and had to put up with more of Sans's shenanigans. Chara realized they felt like little more than a tagalong, with Frisk exploring this new world around them and hardly attempting to communicate with Chara at this point. Even as they enjoyed the brothers' shenanigans in the next room, Chara could only observe in silence. It was only when they got to the room with... a microwave, some cold spaghetti, and a note from Papyrus, that they finally stopped to rest and talk a bit more.

"I feel like I knew a skeleton once before," Chara mumbled, trying to think on it. "I can't really remember them, though... so I must've not seen them very often. I really don't recognize most of the monsters here, but I guess... it's been a long time."

Frisk didn't move to write anything, only looking thoughtful as they sat a few feet in front of the table of spaghetti. Chara was wondering whether or not to be concerned when they finally moved to write, asking, "Are you more comfortable in this area?"

Chara nodded. "Yeah, I... can't really use much magic, now that I'm a ghost. But since I'm still really cold, this place still feels homey. It always did when I was alive, too. Me and Asriel... we came here a lot back then." They laughed a bit, though, saying, "Not as much royal guard out and about back then, though. I had a... friend, of sorts, who lived out in the Snowdin forest. He was my guardian for a while, as ordered by King Dad. But I... don't know if he'd be around anymore."

The kids sat in silence for quite a while, Chara suggesting at one point that maybe Papyrus figured his spaghetti plan worked when they didn't continue on. That earned a laugh, but both kids were mostly thinking on things. And then... Chara realized. Maybe now would be a good time to ask...

"...Frisk, are you the same as me?"

A nod, without hesitation, was their response. It honestly threw Chara off, but Frisk wrote to explain, "My Determination is very great, according to the scientists. Because of that, I can hardly use the magic they put in me. I have no side effects either." They were so willing to talk about, but judging by the next words written they probably weren't as traumatized by everything that happened. "When I was really young the project was shut down. The lab is still there, but nobody is allowed to use it anymore." It was... a relief. Chara didn't say anything, though, allowing Frisk time to write more of what they knew.

"I didn't know your name, but I figure you were the first to run away?" They nodded, earning an expression from Frisk that seemed like... pity. "They said you went off to the mountain and never returned. Six other subjects followed you in, either running away or sent to do what we were meant to." The other... children? Their eyes widened. That... they followed their example. But now they were likely... dead. Because of Chara's father. "Eventually, people no longer feared monsters. They hadn't seen them in so long. So they shut it down when I was younger.

"The other children were all older than me. We were left out on the street. Because of what was done to us, nobody wanted us. One of the scientists, a nice old man, took us in. He had always been there to take care of us when none of the others wanted much to do with us besides the experiments. He was our father.

"After he passed away, my siblings began to drift away. Then I felt the tug from the mountain. I came here because I knew I was needed."

They concluded, looking at Chara to see if they had anything to say. The ghost child was stunned, though, not sure how to feel or what to think. Part of them wanted to cry, yet tears would not come. No more would have to suffer as they did. "Why... why do you think you were needed?"

Frisk shrugged and wrote, "Because of you? Because of my soul? Because of somebody deeper in the mountain? I'm not sure. I might never be sure."

After a brief silence, they decided to carry on, leaving behind the sound of a squeaking mouse...

"Warning: Dog Marriage." Frisk honestly looked concerned, as if they didn't understand. Chara, as an aside, whispered, "Yes, you read that correctly."

Up ahead, they ran into Lesser Dog. To calm it down, Frisk pet it. And kept petting it. And kept petting it. "F... Frisk. It's time to stop." But there was no way to stop this madness. Lesser Dog went where no dog had ever gone before.

After expanding the minds of the married dogs – even though Frisk wasn't actually the puppy the dogs thought they were – they proceeded on to an easily solved puzzle. There Frisk admitted to Papyrus that they hadn't eaten his spaghetti, both children feeling like he may be offended... but he thought the human child wanted to share it.

"You know," Chara started as the skeleton ran off, "I wasn't sure what to think of Papyrus at first, but... he's honestly kind of adorable? In a way. Not a weird way." Frisk raised an eyebrow, having obviously not been thinking anything weird, but Chara ignored that to go on, "He's... a cool guy."

Frisk didn't move to reply, only continuing to walk forward in the direction he'd gone while Chara stayed behind a moment. They were hesitant to bring this up, as if everything that had happened with mother... as if that didn't mean anything. But they had to know. "Frisk, you're... not going to hurt him, right? You're not hurting anybody else, but... even if he wants to capture you so badly, you wouldn't..."

The living child had paused, turning to look at Chara for a moment. They only smiled.

How reassuring.

The next puzzle was difficult for a minute or two until they figured out where exactly they needed to enter the frozen skeleton head from. Sans congratulated them upon completion, claiming they didn't even need his help when he wasn't being that helpful to begin with. And after that... well, the next puzzle wasn't much of a puzzle, despite how complicated it seemed. Even in ghost form, though, Chara was getting a bit exhausted from all this messing around.

"We're getting close to Snowdin," Chara assured as they sat amongst the remains of the many snowdogs that had recently been created. They tried to use their ice manipulation to create a new body for a head that had fallen over, but in death it seemed their abilities had weakened considerably. They could barely freeze things they touched or focused on, but beyond that...

They were powerless. To do anything. To free anybody. To stop them from hurting Frisk who only wanted to go home. Or to free the monsters.

Chara didn't actually know what they wanted at this point.

The duo made their way through a puzzle and a few other monsters, Frisk obviously being worn out after fighting a monster covered in gifts and a puppy in a mech. Their ghostly companion was worrying if they'd have the energy to even make it to Snowdin at this rate, especially when they faced... Papyrus's next "puzzle."

The Gauntlet of Deadly Terror.

Despite the ridiculous name, both kids were very clearly a bit frightened. Frisk was too exhausted to take another hit, their Determination barely holding them together. Chara couldn't do much besides offering to freeze the skeleton, which most likely wouldn't work anyway considering his size and all. But the tall skeleton seemed hesitant, his shorter brother prompting him to no avail. And at last, Papyrus figured himself a skeleton with standards. A defeat like this would be too easy. The humans were both beyond relieved. Still, Papyrus seemed as confused as they were that he had taken this course of action, running off with a confused, "NYEH... HEH... HEH?"

Even Sans admitted he didn't know what his brother was going to do next. The kids weren't exactly worried about him, though, since now... they'd reached Snowdin.

Frisk sped up when they reached town, hurrying towards the buildings while Chara looked around the small town that had hardly changed in their absence. At least compared to how they last saw it – when they got here Snowdin was just filling up, people forced out of the Ruins due to overpopulation. Quickly, with a bit of nudging from Chara themself, they expanded to New Home, just inside the barrier. The child had assured them multiple times humans would not enter directly through the barrier, fearful of the monsters within. And it seemed like nothing had gone wrong since their death, even considering their appearance in the human village.

At the time before they died of their "mysterious illness," Snowdin was settling into a quiet, cozy small town where they had spent many hours. Playing in the snow, practicing their powers, reading in the library... At that point, they had finally been accepted more into monster society. They could've been happy.

But...

Frisk appeared before them suddenly, wondering where their mind was wandering off to. "Aha, sorry, I spaced out because... nostalgia, I guess. How are you..." They stared at the other child, who no longer seemed as... desperate to get somewhere safe. They seemed a bit more cheerful, holding up a page with the same weird star drawn on it as before, the words now saying, "The sight of such a friendly town fills you with Determination." Not bothering to ask what the heck they were on about, Chara said, "Yeah, yeah, that's good that you're feeling better. But still, you must be exhausted. Let's go rest in the... 'Snowdinn.'"

Both children giggled a bit, going to enter the building where a bunny lady happily and obliviously checked Frisk into a room. They generally tried to ignore the loud snoring coming from the next room.

"I really think we should talk once you wake up," Chara said, looking oddly serious about it. When Frisk seemed concerned, they assured, "Don't worry, it's just a few technicalities. But you really should rest for now. It's been a long journey just to get here." Despite seeming uncertain, Frisk nodded, snuggling up under the blankets despite the fact they were... generally immune to the cold. It didn't really bother them.

"I'll be in the void while you're asleep," Chara whispered to them as they backed towards the door. "I'll come back every hour or two to make sure you haven't woken up, so don't worry."

Don't worry.

Everything is fine, Frisk.

Soon this will all be behind us...

Shaking hands quickly sign in the darkness, "Who's there?" But nobody came.

What's that? We're friends, aren't we? Ever since you fell down here, I've been by your side, haven't I? Don't you trust me? I know what I'm doing. This is necessary.

Come find me. Help me. Save me. Free me. Frisk.

Frisk.

Frisk?

"Are you okay?"

The red-eyed ghost was staring at them when they woke, sitting up in bed and wondering what they had been dreaming about. Chara seemed concerned, saying, "You kept moving around in your sleep... like you were having a bad dream. I figured I'd wake you up anyway since it's been about seven hours..."

Time had passed so quickly? Frisk yawned, still exhausted beyond belief. Yesterday had been pretty rough though, they figured, considering... well, between a pretty hyper skeleton and everything he put them through, which wasn't actually that bad, mixed with the "hounding" of all the royal guard members... it was a long day, to say the least. Still, Frisk felt a little better than they had before sleeping. There was still the matter of that talk, though.

Once they'd woken up a bit more, Chara opened with, "First of all, that Sans guy? Can totally see me. I don't know why or how or anything, but... he usually ignores me, I dunno. Point is, he can see me. Maybe because he's a skeleton and technically dead? But Papyrus can't and he's also a skeleton, hm..."

That out of the way, after a brief recap of their conversation with him, they went on, "And second, no more secrets. What's with the stars and Determination quotes? You were perfectly fine when you came back yesterday. You were perfectly fine when we met up with Mom the day before. What's the deal?"

After giving them a long opportunity to write out their response, Frisk's initial reply was an, "I dunno." On the next page, though, before Chara could get frustrated with them, they'd added, "Like with the buttons you cannot press, these stars appear for me to interact with. They heal me when I press them."

"Interesting... And I can't see them, apparently." Frisk nodded, having guessed this quite a while back. "This gives us an advantage, though. As long as you keep finding these spots, we don't have to worry as much about you resting up between battles. Now if only I could make them work, maybe they could cure my case of Death? Okay, yeah, not funny."

The two of them exited out into the cold town, same as it was the day before. "So... wanna look around before we move onto Waterfall?" Chara asked, honestly just wanting to spend more time here. Frisk nodded, obviously wanting to see what the Underground had to offer. So with that, they went off...

After purchasing some bisicles from the shop, the children made their way through town, Frisk stopping to listen to what the townsfolk all had to say. Some of them seemed pretty normal, others...

"We all know the underground has problems, but we smile anyway." Frisk looked questioningly at the monster speaking to his friend, who looked to the child and said, "Why? We can't do anything, so why be morose about it?"

The human's expression twisted into one of sadness after a few seconds, leading Chara to suggest they move on. The ghost child knew that it was hard to come to terms with their imprisonment – it was so unjust, so cruel, yet nobody could do anything about it without... well, they weren't going to suggest Frisk give up their soul. They wouldn't let them if they tried. As the two walked away, the monster gazed upwards, merely saying, "Smile smile... smile smile..."

They came upon a wolf tossing ice into the river, but when Frisk looked to Chara for some explanation they just shrugged. "I guess it's his job? I don't see why, though..."

Frisk seemed quite excited to go to the "librarby," writing to Chara that they were interested to learn what books could tell them about monster society. Chara wanted to point out that they could just explain things, but they probably wouldn't know where to start unless Frisk asked about specific things. So they sat around while Frisk read for a while, learning about monster funerals, monsters' physical forms compared to humans-

"But they will never know the joy of expressing themselves through magic." Chara read over their shoulder. "Guess we're the exception. But... that's weird. Humans at least used to have magic before us. Oh, but I guess if I told Mom and Dad about humans not having it anymore it would become pretty common knowledge around here..."

As they moved on, Frisk came to a book that really got Chara's interest. "H-Hey, this history book is about me!" At the confused glance they were given, Chara pointed out, "Um, that is! I told them about humans in my time and the monsters began to move out of Home! I helped with the expansion, but, uh... I died pretty soon after our house in New Home was completed."

Continuing down the road, they came upon the home of the skeleton brothers, made obvious by the mailboxes outside. Though Frisk passed by the house, only examining it for a few moments, Chara stopped them to ask, "Frisk, can you write something down for me?" And after stuffing said something in the mailbox... they went on to face him.

The two children wandered into the mist, Chara having to assure their friend they were still there as they sort of... blended in with everything else, being kinda transparent and all. Eventually, in the distance, they saw the shadow of Papyrus's form, heard his voice cut through the fog: "HUMAN. ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS.

"FEELINGS LIKE... THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER. THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL. THESE FEELINGS..."

"Is he confessing his platonic feelings for us?" Chara wondered aloud, raising an eyebrow, before he ruined it by saying, "THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!" The child facepalmed. There were no words. He acted as if he might be there friend for a few moments, pitying their loneliness, but then... he realized again they were a human. They had to be captured so that monsters could be free.

As Frisk's soul appeared before them, Chara only said, "You know what to do." They nodded, knowing they couldn't really underestimate him no matter how silly he seemed.

That said, his attacks went right by them.

"Um... maybe he still wants to be friends so he isn't trying? Do something to maybe make him stop fighting." Chara suggested, watching the bones across the ground to their right, too short to actually even touch their target. Frisk nodded eagerly, writing something down, and holding it up to reveal... a pick-up line? "That... that wasn't what I meant. Frisk?" But the child was too busy finger gunning in Papyrus's direction, grinning in a way that meant they meant business. "I don't understand you."

"WHAT?! FL-FLIRTING? SO YOU FINALLY REVEAL YOUR ULTIMATE FEELINGS! W-WELL! I'M A SKELETON WITH VERY HIGH STANDARDS!" He didn't seem convinced that this would work out, leading Frisk to write down, "I can make spaghetti." "OH NO, YOU'RE MEETING ALL MY STANDARDS! I GUESS THIS MEANS I HAVE TO GO ON A DATE WITH YOU...? LET'S DATE L-LATER! AFTER I CAPTURE YOU!"

More of his attacks went by without any effect, as Chara went up to look closer at the skeleton muttering to himself about what to cook for the date. "He's so... innocent. I don't think he even knows what you getting captured entails. Just spare him and let's move on." Frisk nodded as Chara backtracked towards them, showing mercy.

"SO YOU WON'T FIGHT... THEN, LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED 'BLUE ATTACK.'"

"Easy enough, just stand still and you'll have no problem." Chara told them, watching as glowing light blue bones moved actually in Frisk's direction, longer now and coming from both sides. The bones passed right through them, causing no damage, Frisk staring blankly at the skeleton before them. But as the attack concluded, something unexpected actually occurred.

Frisk fell to their knees suddenly, one of the bones from the right suddenly backtracking. Before they could get their bearings or Chara could warn them, it hit them for a bit of damage, their now blue soul weakening. "YOU'RE BLUE NOW," Papyrus proudly proclaimed, both children looking at each other with concern for the turn this just took.

Speaking of turns, the field seemed to change to match Frisk's now heavy body, bones from the right coming in low and bones from the left coming in high. Frisk managed to jump over the next few bones that appeared, but still mainly remained on one knee, finding it hard to stand. Chara in the meantime was panicking a little more than they appreciated.

"I-I, oh my gosh, I'm sorry, are you okay? I saw it but I couldn't stop it and it was coming so fast I-" Frisk shook their head, not really blaming Chara for any of it, yet still they said, "I-I didn't even know that could happen! Is your soul okay, are you okay, I don't think Papyrus would kill you so just-" It took an honest glare from Frisk to shut them up, despite Frisk not being angry. They just wanted them to stop being so hard on themself.

Frisk jumped and ducked under incoming bones, Chara focusing on warning them what direction the next ones were coming from or if any were coming back at them. Frisk was hit a few more times, having to eat half of a bisicle while Papyrus went on about his future popularity and how he'd be so great. "BUT... WILL ANYBODY LIKE ME AS SINCERELY AS YOU?" he pondered, even as he continued to attack them. "SOMEBODY LIKE YOU IS REALLY RARE..." he went on, going on to wonder how hard dating would be after they were captured and sent away.

But that didn't matter, he told them, and they should just give up before he used his special attack! Yet when he finally did try to use it, a dog was munching on it before running off to who knew where. Annoyed, he settled for a totally "normal attack." What followed was Chara desperately trying to assist Frisk in timing their jumps, confusedly reading off the "COOL DUDE" in his bone attacks, and Frisk barely managing to avoid that final, huge attack.

Chara felt that something was off about the height of their jump, obviously. Frisk was safe, so they weren't that suspicious, but it felt like... they would've needed help to make that kind of jump. As if something had pulled them that high.

Shaking that feeling off, Papyrus offered his own mercy, obviously too tired to continue. Frisk, having eaten a bit more food, seemed all right for the most part, and gladly accepted the mercy. Immediately after, though, Paps began to cry.

"NYOO HOO HOO... I CAN'T EVEN STOP SOMEONE AS WEAK AS YOU... UNDYNE'S GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED IN ME... I'LL NEVER JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD... AND... MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT!"

In the time it took for him to mourn his friend loss, Frisk wrote something down on their paper, and when he turned around it said, "Let's be friends."

Chara wandered a bit, looking around for eyes they thought were watching as Papyrus celebrated their new friendship. "I wonder if... but I'd see him around if he were nearby, right?" Maybe Sans had been watching his brother or something? If so, he was probably already gone by now considering how he got around. Not that they were sure of how he got around. He just did.

"THEN... WHEN YOU REACH THE CAPITAL, CROSS THE BARRIER." they overheard Papyrus saying, turning their attention back to him. "ANYTHING CAN ENTER THROUGH IT, BUT NOTHING CAN EXIT... EXCEPT SOMEONE WITH A POWERFUL SOUL." That was Frisk all right, they thought, considering they must've been in the highest DT levels of red souls. "THAT'S WHY THE KING WANTS TO ACQUIRE A HUMAN. HE WANTS TO OPEN THE BARRIER WITH SOUL POWER."

...right. Dad was trying for that method now, too. They couldn't break the barrier with just one soul. "TO REACH THE CASTLE, YOU WILL HAVE TO PASS THROUGH THE KING'S CASTLE. THE KING OF ALL MONSTERS... HE IS...

"...WELL... HE'S A BIG FUZZY PUSHOVER! EVERYBODY LOVES THAT GUY. I AM CERTAIN IF YOU JUST SAY... 'EXCUSE ME, MR. DREEMURR... CAN I PLEASE GO HOME?' HE'LL GUIDE YOU RIGHT TO THE BARRIER HIMSELF!"

Papyrus said his farewells and somehow defied gravity to jump over Frisk's head. Chara stood thinking of this, how even though their mother had such a low opinion of her husband... others still seemed to love him. He hadn't seemed to change in their eyes. It was a relief, but it only made them that much more determined to see him.

He must be... so sad. But...

Where was Asriel?

"Mind if I go on that date?" The words were suddenly in front of Chara's face, Frisk holding the notebook up to them. Their expression looked like they were trying to stay happy, but they were obviously worried. About Chara, about Asgore... there was a lot to worry about.

"Sure, but... I think I'll pass. I'm going to just... sit here for a while." They didn't feel like putting up with his shenanigans any longer, as amusing as he could be. But instead of ditching them, Frisk sat with them, telling Chara they'd just go on whenever the two of them were ready. Ready to leave Snowdin and wander into the marsh.

As they sat there, next to the river, the fog slowly returned.


	4. Waterfall

They proceeded into the glowing caverns of Waterfall after a long break, immediately finding... Sans. "Can't you just ignore him?" they asked as Frisk used one of the invisible star things, looking at Sans and waving all the while. Before going to talk to him, though, Chara pointed to a glowing blue flower nearby, saying, "Go put your ear next to that."

Confused, Frisk obeyed, hearing when they did, "All that gives my life validation is explaining the Echo Flower... No one can know..." Chara snickered a bit, feeling bad for whoever had said that, but was thrown off when the guy next to the flower told Frisk, "Never trust a flower... That's one of the constants of this world."

...their mind wandered to Flowey. How could it not?

"Yo!" called the Monster Kid from nearby to Frisk, having just noticed them. "Are you sneaking out to see her, too?" Frisk looked at Chara for confirmation, but all they could do was shrug, not really knowing who he was talking about. The living child nodded anyway. "Awesome... She's the coolest, right? I wanna be just like her when I grow up... Hey, don't tell my parents I'm here. Ha ha."

His words and nervous laughter reminded Chara of something. Some instance where they and Ri had snuck off for a while to go look in the dump for human garbage... getting caught by a royal guard member... "Please don't tell our parents we're here." They sighed.

Approaching Sans, Chara had a look of irritation on their face. Taking this the wrong way or just messing with them, he asked, "what? haven't you seen a guy with two jobs before?"

"I'm just surprised you're not lazing about, to be honest." Chara told him, with Frisk furiously writing at them not to be rude.

"fortunately, two jobs means twice as many legally-required breaks." Naturally. "i'm going to grillby's. wanna come?"

Chara was about to say no, they wouldn't, they had to be off and get Frisk back to the surface as quick as they could or potentially save the monster world if that was an option, but Frisk just nodded, obviously wanting to make up for ditching his brother or something. "well, if you insist... i'll pry myself away from my work..."

He walked around his stand, but started heading in the direction that would lead them further into Waterfall. "over here. i know a shortcut." Chara rolled their eyes as Frisk followed Sans, but just before they went to follow –

k

The void came crashing down around them. There was nothing but emptiness, a nothingness that suffocates, a white, cracked face on a background that was colorless, yet not black or white. All in a single moment, they felt... fear. Fear like none other. They weren't dying. They were already d e –

It stopped.

Waterfall appeared back around them, Frisk and Sans nowhere to be seen. Nobody anywhere to be seen. "...Frisk?" They looked around, wondering where everybody had gone. "...Sans? MK? You guys... where did you... go...?" Grillby's. They were heading to Grillby's. Chara closed their eyes to teleport there, but realized... were they crying?

Then they saw it.

"Chara, where did you go?" Their crybaby brother, huddled in the corner all alone. Crying. They had made him cry. "I'm sorry, I didn't... I do trust you! Chara! Please come back... please don't leave me..."

"I... I wouldn't, Ri!" They tried to shout back at him, but he didn't seem to hear them. "Ri? Ri, please! I miss you so much! We were supposed to be together forever, but... my soul... what happened to my soul?"

They jumped, feeling something go through them. It was... Frisk. Frisk? "Frisk, Ri is..." But... he was gone, no longer in the corner. MK and the other guy were nearby once again. Sans was back in the place he'd been in before. "He's... I don't know. Where did you go?"

They looked concerned as they moved to write down, "I went to Grillby's. I was gone maybe fifteen minutes. Are you okay?"

Fifteen – but it had been a minute at most! Ugh, why did they even question it? "...I'm fine, but I think your friend's up to weird void stuff." Frisk still looked confused, but they just shook their head, turning to finally proceed deeper into Waterfall. As they passed Sans, he winked, saying, "let's hang out again sometime." Chara didn't even glance his way.

Before they were fully out of the room, though, they paused and looked at Frisk. "...hey, do you know anybody with a pale... sort of cracked face? I saw a monster like that earlier but I'm not sure what they were..."

Neither child, shrugging and continuing on, noticed the faded blue glow of the skeleton's eye.

"All we have is a bisicle... will you be okay? Maybe we should go back to Snowdin?" Frisk shook their head, closing the box, determined to save the things inside for if things got desperate. They walked around the waterfall at first, seeing an Echo Flower in the distance, and when the two approached... "I swore I saw something... behind that rushing water..."

"Here, I think I can temporarily..." Chara went up to the waterfall, the rocks passing right through them on the way, and once they were underneath the water above their head began to freeze. Slowly but surely it stopped completely, allowing Frisk to go under without getting soaked, but when they emerged... "An old... tutu... I wonder if this belonged to one of the kids... I-I mean, finally! A protective piece of armor." Frisk giggled a bit, despite their previous look of concern. Chara wasn't sure if they wanted them to put it on...

The lighting got darker in the next room, Chara being sure to lead when they got to some tall grass. But suddenly, from above...

"H...HI, UNDYNE! I'M HERE WITH MY DAILY REPORT... UHHH... REGARDING THAT HUMAN I CALLED YOU ABOUT EARLIER..."

"Undyne?!" Wasn't that the captain of the guard? Was that Papyrus? "Frisk, don't move. Wait for them to leave."

"...HUH? DID I FIGHT THEM? Y-YES! OF COURSE I DID! I FOUGHT THEM VALIANTLY!" That much was... true. He did try his hardest, they couldn't deny that. "...WHAT? DID I CAPTURE THEM...? W-W-WELL... NO. I TRIED VERY HARD, UNDYNE, BUT IN THE END... I FAILED." Oh, Papyrus. He'd let them go and now had to deal with the consequences on his own... "...W-WHAT? YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE THE HUMAN'S SOUL YOURSELF..."

Chara's eyes widened as they looked back at Frisk. Frisk didn't look particularly scared, but... Chara couldn't let that happen. Where would they be without Frisk? What would happen if the person who brought them as back to life as they could be was killed? There'd be nothing they could do anymore. Would they even exist without a soul and Frisk's Determination?

"BUT UNDYNE, YOU DON'T H-HAVE TO DESTROY THEM! YOU SEE... YOU SEE... I UNDERSTAND. I'LL HELP YOU IN ANY WAY I CAN." They could hear Papyrus run off but not exactly see anything. Was he going to betray them? He didn't seem the type, honestly. The two of them waited a while before Frisk decided to move –

\- and heard Undyne approach on the cliff above in her armor. She threateningly aimed her sword at the grass below while both children held their breath, but didn't seem to be able to actually see Frisk as her weapon vanished and she backed away. "Go, go, go, don't look back just go," Chara said, before adding, "but quietly!"

Frisk moved slowly, Chara keeping an eye out to see if Undyne would appear at the edge of the cliff again, and exited the grass when it seemed all was clear. Of course, two seconds later, MK burst out of the grass right behind them, saying, "Yo, did you see the way she was staring at you...? That... was AWESOME! I'm SOOOO jealous! What'd you do to get her attention...? Ha ha."

Chara hadn't even noticed him... obviously they weren't very observant if he could get this close without either of them realizing. What kind of knight were they supposed to be?

...wait.

"C'mon! Let's go watch her beat up some bad guys!" The kid fell on his face as he ran forward, Frisk pausing to watch him before going to another one of their invisible save spots.

"He doesn't even realize you're the supposed bad guy..." They sighed, looking over at Frisk, huddled on the ground all of a sudden. "You okay? ...there's like... this feeling of dread..."

They practically bounced up, holding up their notebook, and as if they'd anticipated Chara's words had written, "But we stay determined." Chara had to admire that determination. They supposed Frisk was kind of like how they used to be, back before the whole... dying thing. "Yeah," they said, laughing a bit at that response, "yeah, I guess we do."

After a couple of puzzles involving flowers on the water – which made Chara a bit suspicious, to be honest, considering flowers apparently couldn't be trusted – Papyrus called asking what Frisk was wearing. For a friend. Frisk answered no, leading Chara to wonder if they had just somehow told everybody what their signal for no was or if they were answering through more invisible button prompts. In their guilt for lying to Papyrus they immediately took off their bandage to change into that old tutu, making things... really uncomfortable.

"A long time ago, monsters would whisper their wishes to the stars in the sky." said an Echo Flower in the next room. "If you hoped with all your heart, your wish would come true. Now, all we have are these sparkling stones on the ceiling..." Chara knew neither worked. Wishes didn't come true. "Thousands of people wishing together can't be wrong! The king will prove that." Even after all this time, how could there still be hope? No matter what they'd tried...

"C'mon, sis! Make a wish!" "I wish my sister and I will see the real stars someday..."

"Oh," Chara said suddenly, giving Frisk pause, "Ri's never seen the stars. He was born down here... I promised I'd take him, but I guess I made him wait a lot longer than expected." They hummed as Frisk went to write something down, before sighing as they added, "...before we left the underground, we wished that everything would go well down here. My final wish, I guess... and I failed."

"Do you really think we could free everybody?"

"...yeah. Yeah, I do. Even if wishes are pointless, that... is mine, and always will be. That's every monster's wish."

In the next room, there was a series of writings on the wall that Chara had long since memorized. They had studied everything in the underground as many times as they could while they had been alive, and a few things had stuck with them better than others. This was definitely one of them. This was... one of the reasons for their decision, after a book they'd read. Even as Frisk paused to try and read it – an impossible task, as Chara had required the help of their mother back then – they began to recite, "The War of Humans and Monsters."

The children walked along as Chara spoke, adding their own flair and emphasis to the reading. "Why...? Why did the humans attack? Indeed, it seemed that they had nothing to fear. Humans are unbelievably strong... It would the soul of nearly every monster just to equal the power of a single human soul." They looked at Frisk for this part, going on, "But humans have one weakness. Ironically, it's the strength of their soul. Its power allows it to persist outside the human body, even... after death...

"...if a monster defeats a human, they can take its soul. A monster with a human soul... a horrible beast with unfathomable power."

Chara went silent, stopping across the room from the... the picture. Frisk stopped to look at it, but Chara couldn't look in that direction. They wouldn't. They didn't need that sort of reminder. And finally, Frisk stepped forward, not stopping to ask questions. They already knew what they needed to. They could fill in any holes on their own.

They crossed the dark abyss on a plank, into an... unsettling room. Chara glanced over at the pillars to their left, feeling something was... lurking. "Something's gonna jump out at me, something's gonna jump out at me..." they whispered, trying not to alarm Frisk in case it was nothing, but then –

Spear in the face. Like right in front of their face. They ran as it disappeared, not even needing a moment to figure out what was going on. Chara followed as quickly as they could, warning where the spears were coming from so they could dodge – failing only in one instance, as their soul was struck with a single magical spear. But the kids carried on, Chara briefly glimpsing the armored figure in the pillars. Undyne.

"Quick, hide in there!" Chara shouted as they approached some more tall grass. As they entered it, though, Chara paused to see that she was practically right behind them. "Frisk, move out of the way! Quietly! Maybe she won't-"

Before they could finish that sentence, Undyne passed right through them, moving forward with only murder on her mind. She reached into the grass and picked up a small child, but... it wasn't the expected one. It was MK. After a few moments of staring at him, she dropped him, turning to leave instead of continuing the pursuit. Chara immediately ran to look and see where Frisk had ended up, finding them as they emerged on the other side of the grass with MK.

"Yo... did you see that!? Undyne just TOUCHED ME! I'm never washing my face again! Man, are you unlucky. If you were standing just a LITTLE bit to the left...!"

"That was too close. You even got hurt!" Chara said as they walked up behind Frisk, checking them over. They were... mostly fine, anyway.

"You, don't worry! I'm sure we'll see her again!" MK said, before he took off further into the marsh. Chara sighed, because that was exactly what they were afraid of...

They proceeded into a room with some cheese trapped in crystal, a squeaky mouse hole and Echo Flower, and another of those star points. Without Frisk even having to write something down, Chara examined the scene and said, "Knowing the mouse might one day extract the cheese from the mystical crystal... It fills you with determination!" Frisk giggled a bit, nodding, and both of them sat down next to the flower to rest.

"I wish I could speak into one of these. Leave something meaningful, or hilarious... and, well, I guess that's not an option for you. Did you lose your voice because of the...?" Frisk shrugged, explaining on paper that they weren't sure if they were born that way or lost their voice when they were too young to remember it. The latter wouldn't be too shocking.

"Well, even without a voice... you're doing fine, Frisk." Frisk looked confused at Chara's words, though, not sure what brought them up. "Getting through everything, the lab and all of this... all without being able to say a word. I couldn't have done it. I think you're doing well."

"You are, too."

Chara smiled. They guessed being dead would be cause for some alarm and not being able to get through this sort of situation, but... here they were.

"I think we'll be fine... Together, we'll be fine."

Sans was once again in the next room, but as Frisk stopped to interact with him Chara went to check out the northern room. The Nice Cream Guy was there, looking sad – probably about his lack of business – but he seemed to cheer up when Frisk caught up and he announced his punch card scheme. Taking advantage of this for healing items, Frisk bought some Nice Cream before they headed off into the glowing area nearby.

"Oh, um, by the way, Frisk? You... you have something on your face?" It looked like somebody had given them a black eye sort of, but Frisk only held up a small piece of paper they'd for some reason had in their pocket which only said "Sans." ...right, no explanation needed.

They heard the whispers of the Echo Flowers as they quietly passed.

"So? Don't you have any wishes to make?"

"...hmm, just one, but... It's kind of stupid."

Frisk pointed off the beaten path, to a place Chara knew was, "Just a dead-end." Still, Frisk wanted to go look, finding nothing but a huge patch of grass that for some reason seemed important enough to search. Chara was about to ask what their deal was, but... they emerged with some new shoes on. "...oh. Did you know that was there or just get lucky?" Frisk shook their head, signaling the latter, and Chara just chuckled a bit as they said, "...it looks good on you."

A little further along, they got a phone call from Papyrus. He basically confirmed he'd been reporting what Frisk said to Undyne, but... then said he told her they really weren't wearing a gross bandage, following their lie. Because he had known it was a lie. And wanted to protect the them wearing a gross bandage.

Frisk facepalmed as Chara groaned, but both of them had to hand it to him. That was pretty smart thinking. Until he added he'd specifically told her they were wearing a dusty tutu, which they would obviously... never wear...

"...if it helps, I... think it makes you look cute?" Despite Chara's attempt at encouraging them, Frisk stared ahead, obviously... very tired.

The conversation continued, "Don't say that! Come on, I promise I won't laugh." Chara couldn't help be reminded of a few times they and Ri had passed through here... but Chara did wonder momentarily how this conversation was progressing so smoothly with the flowers so far apart.

And then they came upon the other sign.

Before Frisk could even give them a questioning glance, Chara recited, "The power to take their souls. This is the power that the humans feared." They kept walking, eyes on the ground, voice low. "The power that made the humans kill and imprison monsters, when they meant no harm..."

Onionsan in the next room was a good mood raiser. They seemed as cheery as they could manage and were obviously trying hard despite the circumstances. Though the mention of Undyne and their somewhat creepy nature made things a bit awkward, the kids briefly considered staying in there for a while before deciding it was best to move on.

A concert and an encounter with an annoying dog later, Chara was back to narrating, looking even more uncomfortable than they did originally. "This power... has no counter. Indeed, a human cannot take a monster's soul. When a monster dies, its soul disappears. And an incredible power would be needed to take the soul of a living monster."

They stopped, finally, to turn and look at Frisk about this subject. "I... I thought it was a good idea. But I can't even remember anything that happened when we were together. We were... supposed to be together forever after that. But I know it was a mistake. I should've... accepted my death. I couldn't have lived on without hurting somebody unintentionally. My determination... I was losing it. And now it's gone. All I have is yours, I think."

Neither of them moved for a few moments, before quietly they continued, "...there is only one exception. The soul of a special species of monster called... a boss monster. A boss monster's soul is strong enough to persist after death. If only for a few moments. A human could absorb this soul. But this has never happened." They turned away, shoulders slumped, head down. Whether it was written or their own words, they concluded, "And now it never will."

Up ahead was a statue sadly being rained on. Chara stared at it while Frisk walked ahead, noting... it reminded them of their father. Protecting all the little statues underneath from the rain. The horns especially made it stand out in that way. Before they realized, Frisk returned to set an umbrella on it...

"...my..." Their voice shook a bit, Frisk looking at them in concern as they took a step back. "My... music box... I had one just like it. But I guess... this wouldn't be it. There'd be no reason to..." They let out a shaking breath, closing their eyes a moment, before turning to walk away. "Let's just go..."

They met up with MK after grabbing another umbrella, walking with him through the caverns that Chara was surprised hadn't flooded with water after all this time. Must've been a stream or river outside the mountain that it was all flowing into. Where did it even come from?

MK kept talking about how cool Undyne was, bringing up their dad coming to his school once to teach about responsibility and everything with his flowers. His flowers... Flowey looked like one of them. They had to wonder if that was a coincidence... but got distracted from that line of thought when they emerged into an area filled with beautiful sparkling rocks on the dark ceiling, looking like a night sky over the castle in the distance. All three children stopped to look at it.

"...That's it. That's... home." That was where Dad was. Where Asriel was. The nearby sounds of the waterfall reminded them they were still so far away, but they felt... if they just left Frisk behind, they could float all the way there. But they'd just be useless if they went back there without... the living human.

"We'll be there in a day or two, at this rate..."

MK helped Frisk up the cliff ahead, his lack of arms making it impossible to pull him up. Frisk wrote him a quick thank you as he spoke before watching him run off. The two humans carried on together, Chara knowing the writings ahead were almost the end of the story.

"The humans, afraid of our power, declared war on us. They attacked suddenly, and without any of that Frisky mercy." Trying to joke off how they felt about the writing, they winked at Frisk, who smiled as much as they could before stopping to save. "...but in the end, it could hardly be called a war. United, the humans were too powerful, and us monsters, too weak. Not a single soul was taken, and countless monsters were... turned to dust."

Going ahead, the lighting suddenly got dramatic again. "I feel like... something's off about this place. It's just like when we-" Annnnd suddenly spears. "Run run run, don't stop just keep going and run!" But stopping was more necessary, the spears suddenly coming out of the ground constantly in all directions. Chara couldn't do anything about them with their own magic, so the best they could manage was warning Frisk where the spears seemed to be appearing and where they needed to go.

But in the end... a dead-end.

"Crap, crap, crap, I don't... I mean the spears aren't appearing now, maybe you can backtrack a little before she catches up?" Frisk nodded, turning around to rush back, but... there she was.

She cut the walkway.

And Chara could only watch... as Frisk fell down...

"No. No. No, no, Frisk...!"

"It sounds like it came from over here... Oh! You've fallen down, haven't you... Are you okay? Here, get up..."

Warmth. Warm hands around them. Helping them. Who? Why? They had come here to

...

"I... I'm... Chara... you're..."

"Chara, huh? That's a nice name. My name is..."

Frisk opened their eyes, and they were alone. But they were alive. And they were really in pain, but... they could already sense a save point nearby. Just move, just move, it'll be okay...

Viewing this endless cycle of worthless garbage... they sighed. Determination. Why was there a dump down here filled with human crud? They backtracked to the bed of flowers they'd somehow perfectly landed on, wondering where Chara was. Had they not jumped down after Frisk? It probably wouldn't hurt them, would it?

...that dream. They'd seen when Chara first fell down here and met Asriel.

Was that why they seemed to be crying? How had they remembered something they hadn't witnessed?

...they felt really lonely without Chara by their side. The only way they'd even been getting through this is with their company. If they were all on their own...

...they'll catch up. Frisk knew. They'd just catch up a little later.

Right...

They'd fallen where they belonged. They felt like garbage.

Chara said they were a day or two away from the castle, but now they weren't sure if falling had changed that... And Chara was no longer around to guide them, at least for the moment. They started walking through the water, seeing the small ice crystals that tried to form as they went through but melting too quickly to come up.

The magic was never as strong for them as their Determination was.

Frisk listened to the wheezing, despairing sound of a rusted bike's horn. The sound reminded them of themself. They wanted to go home.

It wasn't to say they didn't like all the monsters in the underground, but constantly fearing for their life was wearing down on them. Even with those stars that healed them, they weren't sure how long they could last without... It made them a bit sick to think about. People were depending on them. Monsters were depending on them. Most of all, Chara was depending on them to somehow free everybody.

Chara, Chara, Chara, where was Chara?

They stopped at a training dummy and briefly considered beating on it. They'd avoided hurting anything so far, so why not? But even back in the ruins with the first dummy they'd encountered... Toriel wanted them to be kind. Always be kind. It's all they could do, even if sometimes they just wanted to...

They sighed, and walked on. They'd had enough of the dummy.

But they dummy hadn't had enough of them.

"Hahaha... Too intimidated to fight me, huh?! I am a ghost that lives inside a dummy. My cousin used to live inside a dummy, too. Until... YOU CAME ALONG!" Oh. That dummy was... alive. Of course. Why would they expect anything else? "When you talkd to them, they thought they were in for a nice chat... But the things you SAID...!" They tried to motion that they couldn't say anything, but it wasn't listening. "Horrible. Shocking! UNBELIEVABLE! It spooked them right out of their dummy! HUMAN! I'll scare your soul out of your body!"

*Mad Dummy blocks the way.

ACT Talk

They tried to again explain they had no voice, trying sign language just in case it'd understand. But it didn't seem much for conversation. Frisk wasn't exactly happy with this, the dummy wasn't happy with this, no one is happy with this whole thing.

"Feeble. Feeble! FEEBLE!" A bunch of smaller enemies appeared, shooting... cotton? Frisk avoided the attacks, barely noticing in time that they were also aiming from behind. Though they moved out of the way, the Dummy got hit, complaining about where they were aiming their magic – oh. Oops.

If Chara were here this would be a piece of cake. If they could use magic... they sighed, and carried on. They just needed to trick them into aiming at it...

As the battle went on, the dummy said something about wanting to be on display in a clothing store window, and how they didn't actually remember who their cousin was. Frisk was wondering if he was just using the cousin thing as an excuse to fight them. They fired the ones shooting bullets for them mid-battle, only to replace them with... soul-seeking missile types? Even then, it wasn't hard for Frisk to figure out how to aim them at the dummy.

"DUMMY BOTS! You're awful?" When its final attack didn't work, it glared off to the side, seeking another course of action before screaming, "Who cares. Who cares! WHO CARES! I DON'T NEED FRIENDS! I'VE GOT KNIVES!" A single knife appeared in the air next to him, flying in their direction. They easily avoided it, expecting more to follow, but...

"I'm... Out of knives." Did that mean it was over? "BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER! YOU CAN'T HURT ME AND I CAN'T HURT YOU! YOU'LL BE STUCK FIGHTING ME... Forever. Forever! FOREVER!"

He... he had a point. They didn't have magic, and if he wouldn't relent... His laughter gave them chills despite being ridiculous. What could they do if he didn't back off like everybody else?

That said, some sort of attack came from behind him, hitting him all of a sudden and making him chill. "Wh... What the heck is this!? Ergh! Icicles? Oh, FORGET IT! I'm outta here!"

Icicles? As he left, they watched two figures approach, one of them the familiar silhouette of their friend... and the other Napsstablook. "...sorry, we interrupted you, didn't we?" the ghost monster said as they approached, Chara running ahead of him to go try and hug them. As they fell through Frisk, obviously forgetting that wasn't an option in that moment, Naptablook continued, "as soon as we came over, your friend immediately left... oh no... you guys looked like you were having fun... oh no..."

"It's okay, Blooky!" Chara said as they stood up, grinning at Frisk, who grinned back. Both of them were overjoyed to see the other. "You helped me find my friend, so we're all good!"

The ghost still didn't look convinced, only sadly saying, "i just wanted to say hi... oh no..." Chara laughed a bit nervously, looking at Frisk, as Napstablook seemed to fade away a bit, carrying on, "well... i'm going to head home now... thanks for walking with me..." They headed towards the exit of the dump, before pausing to say, "oh... umm... feel free to 'come with' if you want... but no pressure... i understand if you're busy... it's fine... no worries... just thought i'd offer..." Then they left, floating away backwards.

"Frisk, are you okay? I tried to follow Undyne because I knew she'd be after you but then I also knew that you'd be avoiding her so I saw Blooky and I... I just..." They looked choked up for a moment, looking away when they said, "I'm glad you're okay... even if you're a little hurt... and... a lot soaked! Here, let me help with that."

Chara used their ability to raise a pillar of ice from under the water, getting Frisk out of it and making a path to the exit. Frisk continued to smile at them, glad they showed up when they did, and followed after their ghost friend.

As long as Chara was beside them, maybe they didn't mind being stuck down here as much.

"This place feels... calming. Blooky's house is over that way, and I found out Undyne's house... well, she's not there right now. She's still out looking for you. We need to go that way, but... Blooky really helped us out. We should go see him first." They quite liked the ghost, honestly, but maybe it was because they could more directly talk to him.

"oh, you really came..." he said when they entered his home. "sorry, i... wasn't expecting that. it's not much, but make yourself at home."

While Frisk looked at his tunes, Chara looked at the fridge, asking, "Hey, Blooky, what do ghosts eat?" He came over and pulled something out, telling them, "this is a ghost sandwich... do you want to try it..."

"Sure! I haven't eaten anything since I got here!" Frisk looked over at them in confusion, not seeing the sandwich handed to them, but Chara was overjoyed. "Oh. My gosh. I haven't had a sandwich in so long. I mean I guess from my point of view it's only been a few days but as far as I know it's been a hundred years or something!"

Blooky looked a bit happy that they enjoyed it, but then went and said, "after a great meal i like to lie on the ground and feel like garbage... it's a family tradition... do you want... to join me..."

Frisk had already had enough of feeling like garbage, but at Chara's overly enthusiastic "YES!" they didn't have much choice. The three of them got down on the floor and stared up at the ceiling, the music eventually seeming to fade out, a sense of tranquility coming over them. All of them sighed at random intervals. Both kids honestly found it relaxing – taking their mind off of all their troubles for the moment despite the fact they were supposed to be feeling like garbage. Undyne, the barrier, Asgore... everything faded away. It felt like they were there for a long time.

When they were done Blooky said, "well, that was nice... thank you..." There was a bit of awkward silence for a moment, Chara not wanting to say goodbye, Frisk unable to really say goodbye. Blooky finally said, "uhhh... i'm gonna keep working on that mix cd." And, hesitantly, Chara finally said their goodbyes and allowed them to leave.

They came upon a turtle who said he'd been around a long time, but... Chara didn't recognize him. They wondered if that was just because they couldn't possibly know every monster, or if he'd been born after their time. If so, they'd have had to have been gone a really long time since he was so old-looking...

Frisk bought some sea tea and went on their way, towards another hall filled with ancient writings.

"Hurt, beaten, and fearful for our lives, we surrendered to the humans," Chara read, stopping to put their hands over the old words. This one... maybe it was the mention of, "Seven of their greatest magicians," that got them a bit emotional, "sealed us underground with a magic spell." Human magicians... they had faded out of existence in the years following the war. It was thought that they, for using magic, were looked down on by the other humans and killed off as well. Only later did humans regret that decision, leading to the experiments...

"Anything can enter through the seal, but only beings with a powerful soul – like yours – can leave. There is only one way to reverse this spell." They looked down the corridor, walking towards the next one, going on, "If a huge power, equivalent to seven human souls, attacks the barrier... It will be destroyed."

They walked directly ahead of Frisk, forming ice bridges across the water so they wouldn't get soaked again. They'd dried off as much as they could at Blooky's house. "But this cursed place has no entrance or exits. There is no way a human could come here." But Chara had. They had found the one entrance in their desperation; they had thrown themself down here wishing for death. A death they eventually got anyway.

"We will remain trapped down here... forever."

They made it through the next two rooms with the help of the lights, but... the next room was very dark. Chara tried to guide Frisk, but eventually all they could do was keep walking forward. Finally, they found an Echo Flower, listening to its words-

"Behind you."

The room lit up suddenly. And there appeared...

Undyne.

She stepped forward ominously, keeping her distance, and after a few moments of pause said, "Seven." The kids didn't dare take their eyes off of her, but they both were even more nervous hearing her voice. She had Frisk cornered... "Seven human souls. With the power of seven human souls, our king... King Asgore Dreemurr..."

Something about hearing his name from this person... it didn't feel right. Chara looked down at the ground, focused on her next words but trying not to say anything even if she wouldn't hear them. "...will become a god." He didn't want to be a god. He didn't want to hurt anybody. Why was this happening?

"With that power, Asgore can finally shatter the barrier. He will finally take the surface back from humanity... and give them back the suffering and pain that we have endured."

That broke them. They had hated humanity, but dad always gave them a chance. "He's not like that! You obviously don't know anything about him!" Their words, as expected, went unheard.

"Understand, human? This is your only chance at redemption. Give up your soul... or I'll tear it from your body."

"They haven't done anything." Chara whispered as she took a battle stance. "They haven't hurt anybody. Don't... don't you touch them!" She charged with her spear, though, and Chara could see Frisk's soul appearing. There was no more running. They had to-

But then... MK appeared.

"Undyne! I'll help you fight!" he declared, looking back and forth between the two. Then, looking at Frisk, he shouted, "YO! You did it! Undyne is RIGHT in front of you! You've got front row seats to her fight!" He still... didn't get it? Had he been paying attention? He looked back and forth between them again, staring off as he finally realized... "...wait. Who's she fighting?" Nope, still didn't get it. All of a sudden Undyne grabbed him, pulling him away from Frisk as MK shouted, "H-Hey! You aren't gonna tell my parents about this, are you?"

So... for the moment, they were... saved?

"Let's leave," Chara whispered, looking at Frisk as they nodded, "right now."

They ran through the next room, hearing the conversation from earlier continue. "If I say my wish... you promise you won't laugh at me?"

"Of course I won't laugh!"

"Someday, I'd like to climb this mountain we're all buried under. Standing under the sky, looking at the world all around... that's my wish."

Laughter. "...hey, you said you wouldn't laugh at it!"

"Sorry, it's just funny..."

They stopped, Frisk glancing back, Chara stopping to stare at the writing on the wall at the end of the room. They took a deep breath, shakily saying, "However... there... is a prophecy. The Angel..." They couldn't help the tears that ran down their face. Their dad wasn't a murderer. He wasn't. And they... they weren't the one who... "The 'One Who Has Seen The Surface'..." They'd hardly seen the world. Why would it ever be about them? "Th... They will return. And the underground will go empty."

Maybe... maybe that was Frisk.

"'That's my wish, too."

There was no time to stop. They ran across the bridge in the next room, but when they were almost across MK shouted after them. Despite the fact he wasn't supposed to be there, he had to ask, "Yo... you're human, right? Haha..." Frisk nodded, feeling no need to lie to him. "I knew it! ...well, I know it now, I mean..."

Undyne had told him to stay away, and he figured that made them enemies or something. Frisk braced themself, but Chara said, "I don't... I don't think you have to worry about this kid. We have to keep going, Frisk."

"Yo, say something mean so I can hate you? Please?" Frisk shook their head, half because they did want him to hate them and half because they needed to hurry along. They couldn't even risk a fight here where Undyne could catch up. "Yo, what? So I have to do it? Here goes nothing... Yo, I... I hate your guts." He paused, before saying, "Man, I... I'm such a turd. I'm... I'm gonna go home now."

He backed away, turning to run off, and Frisk was about to do the same when – "Wait, he... he's gonna fall!" Chara had watched him go, and immediately after he shouted, "Yo, w-w-wait! Help! I tripped!" Frisk turned to go back and help him, but-

Undyne appeared.

Frisk froze.

"I... I know what I said before, but you can't just leave him there!" Frisk wanted to say that she would help him, she was the knight here, but the look on Chara's face... they hurried over to pull him up, and before he even got his bearings he had suddenly moved to stand between them and Undyne. He was shaking like a leaf, and Frisk had to reach out and keep him steady as he spoke.

"Y... y... yo... dude... If... If y-you wanna hurt my friend..." He slowly seemed to calm down, voice sounding more determined as he said, "You're gonna have to get through me, first."

And, to both of the humans' surprise... she backed off. She turned around. And she left.

"She's gone..." MK also seemed surprised, but he quickly turned to Frisk to say, "Yo, you really saved my skin. Guess being enemies was just a nice thought, haha. We'll just have to be friends instead." Frisk stared a few moments, confused at what had just happened, but... nodded quickly. MK seemed a bit too fanboyish for their tastes before, but... he was really a good friend. "...man, I should REALLY go home... I bet my parents are worried sick about me!" That said, he turned and more calmly started walking away, turning back for a moment to call back, "Later, dude!" Frisk waved as he left. Running off again, of course.

"...I hope he'll be okay," Chara sighed, "this is no place for a kid to run around without arms. If you hadn't been there..." They wiped the tears that had previously been in their eyes, saying, "...let's just hurry before she decides to come back. We're almost to Hotland, now."

The two of them walked ahead, coming upon the entrance to Hotland. "It's right through here, now. After Hotland, we'll be at the castle." The two of them started to walk through, but then... Chara looked up. They both heard again, "Seven."

Both of them froze where they were.

"Seven human souls, and King Asgore will become a god." Was she just going to repeat what she'd said before? She slowly turned on top of the small mountain, but then said, "Six."

Chara knew where this was going. And they didn't like it at all.

"That's how many we have collected thus far. Understand? Through your seventh and final soul, this world will be transformed. First, however, as is customary for those who make it this far... I shall tell you the tragic tale of our people."

Chara had beaten Frisk to that one, at least. "It all started, long ago..."

"Maybe you can walk by her while she's monologuing-" Chara started to suggest, but then all of a sudden that went out the window. Her tone changed dramatically all of a sudden as she said, "No, you know what? SCREW IT! WHY SHOULD I TELL YOU THAT STORY WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE? NGHHHHHHH"

And then the helmet came off.

"...oh," Chara said, confusing Frisk. "She's a fish. So was her house." Which confused Frisk even more. Was that really all they had to say?!

"YOU!" Undyne shouted accusingly. "You're standing in the way of everybody's hopes and dreams! Alphys's history books made me think humans were cool... with their giant robots and flowery swordswomen."

This, on the other hand, confused Chara. They looked to Frisk, also shouting accusingly, "YOU HAVE THOSE?" Frisk desperately shook their head, but Undyne continued.

"BUT YOU? You're just a coward! Hiding behind that kid so you could run away from me again! And let's not forget your wimpy goody-two-shoes-schtick! Oooh! I'm making such a difference by hugging random strangers!" She looked absolutely disgusted. "You know what would be more valuable to everyone? IF YOU WERE DEAD! That's right, human! Your continued existence is a crime! Your life is all that stands between us and our freedom! Right now, I can feel everyone's hearts pounding together! Everyone's been waiting their whole lives for this moment!"

It was the truth. Even if Chara didn't want to accept it, it was the truth. All they and monsters had wanted was freedom. To live once more on a welcoming surface that was theirs. If Frisk was dead...

"But we're not nervous at all." Chara stared up at her, eyes widening at her words. "When everyone puts their hearts together, they can't lose! Now, human! Let's end this, right here, right now. I'll show you how determined monsters can be!"

Was it... better to let Frisk...

No, they... they had to get out of here together. They had to free the monsters together.

"Step forward when you're ready! Fuhuhuhu!"

The wind is howling.

They stepped forward.

"That's it, then...! No more running away! HERE I COME!" She lunged down at them with her sphere, and they jumped out of the way. With a swing of the weapon, their heart... turned green? A green shield formed on their arm as she shouted, "En guarde!"

"She's... giving you a chance, at least?" Chara said, as Undyne said, "As long as you're green, you can't escape! Unless you learn to face danger head-on... you won't last a SECOND against ME!"

Frisk desperately tried to move but found it was impossible to step away. They could turn, but it was as if they were trapped in an invisible box... "Frisk, watch out! Use the shield to block her attacks!" Frisk watched as spears came from all around, lifting the shield to easily block them. She gave her a look of confusion that said "that's it?" The bullets got a bit faster after that.

Despite her threatening demeanor, Frisk went the normal route and use MERCY. She spoke of the monsters' dream for a happy ending that was now in reach, her attacks getting more complicated as she went along, and then-

Their soul turned red.

"Look out!" Chara warned, suddenly getting between Frisk and a spear they hadn't noticed from the left. They managed to slow it with ice magic long enough for Frisk to back out of the way, before it continued flying in the direction they'd been in. "Run, you're free for the moment! Take this opportunity!" They nodded, both kids immediately taking off.

Undyne seemed thrown off by this as they passed by her, and pursued them until she caught up. Turning their soul green again she declared, "You won't get away from me this time!"

As the attacks kept coming she insisted, "I'm doing you a favor!"

Shut up.

"No human has ever made it past Asgore!"

Shut up!

"Honestly, killing you now is an act of mercy...!"

"Stop talking about my dad!" Chara screamed suddenly, startling Frisk as their soul turned red and they avoided another attack from the side. As if their anger at her took form, a spear of ice suddenly appeared, flying right back at her.

-27

Chara's eyes widened as they realized what they'd done, putting their hand over their mouth. She was barely hurt by their attack, but... they just... "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Frisk stared at them, looking worried, but Chara read their expression as... fear, maybe? "Le... let's leave. Let's keep going. I'm... I'm sorry, I..."

But they waited too long, Frisk's soul turning green again. Undyne continued speaking of somebody named Alphys and about humans and... neither child cared. Though Chara was not frozen in place as Frisk was, they couldn't bring themself to move. Frisk couldn't focus on them, having to dodge more and more complicated attacks, getting hit multiple times and having to eat some Nice Cream to heal themself, barely making it through one of her attacks. At the first chance, having no time to stop and help Chara, they ran.

When Undyne caught them again, she didn't even bother turning their soul green again. They kept running, even as Papyrus called to say after their date they should... hang out with Undyne. They hung up on him after he declared they'd be great friends, having no time for his shenanigans, continuing to flee.

They only had 2 health points left. They weren't sure if Chara was following. They passed by a sleeping Sans, who bought them some time, but then when they crossed the bridge leading into Hotland...

"Armor... so hot... But I can't... give up..." They heard her fall, and turned to see she'd collapsed. Right... a fish... wouldn't like this sort of heat. They could... they could get away now... Chara was gone again. They hadn't followed. Frisk could only hope they'd catch up, but...

There was a water cooler nearby...

...they sighed.

And went to splash it on her face. They couldn't just leave her there. If Chara had caught up, they would've said the same thing. She stood up pretty quickly, staring down at them for a moment once she'd recovered. She looked around as if somebody else could've been the one who tossed water on her. And then...

She walked away.

...victory.

They turned and ran away into Hotland without delay.


	5. Hotland

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry

Undyne passed them, oblivious to their words. "I'm sorry." She didn't know they were there. Nobody knew they were there. "I'm sorry..." They weren't a human, a monster, hardly a ghost. "I..." They weren't anything, anymore. Because of the humans. Their life had been ruined by the humans. And the lives of the monsters had been ruined further because... of them...

How were they even supposed to save monsters? Frisk would have to die. There was no other way. But without Frisk, they had no connection to the world... Frisk was their only friend now. Even if they found Asriel, he couldn't... But what else could they do? Wait around for some other human to come falling in? They didn't have time. The only other alternative was... using all the monster souls. But that...

That wasn't... an option... Killing them wasn't an option! Chara hadn't meant to attack Undyne in the first place, they just let their emotions get out of hand! Killing monsters wasn't okay!

...but killing humans was?

"Dad's not a murderer. Everybody is wrong! He... everybody... Ri wouldn't let him do that, he..." They looked around, suddenly, realizing... "He... Frisk? Frisk?! Where did you..."

Their head snapped back in the direction Undyne had gone, eyes widening. "Wait." They stood up, going after her as quickly as they could, screaming, "Wait! No!"

Frisk stopped running when they came upon the building.

The word "LAB" in large letter intimidated them more than they thought anything else had since coming down here. They turned their head to look at the other direction, blocked by members of the guard... Upon approaching, it was explained to them that a human was in the area. Oh boy. So they were blocking it off, even though the elevators weren't working.

The only way was through the lab.

When they entered, it was dark. They couldn't make out anything, which was... pleasant. Really. And when they came out of the long entrance corridor, only one thing stood out: Their face on a large screen, their every move being followed. That wasn't creepy at all. They only hoped whoever was watching them was more interested in helping them...

They stumbled further along in the dark until they heard a door open, pausing to wait and see who it was. They were momentarily blinded by the lights coming on, squinting to see... a dinosaur? Some sort of lizard? The monster turned and walked in their direction a few steps before realizing they were there, and they heard the "Oh. My god." as their vision cleared.

A lizard in a labcoat. This must be the scientist... Alphys?

"I didn't expect you to show up so soon! I haven't showered, I'm barely dressed, it's all messy, and... ummm..." For a minute she seemed to be freaking out, but finally she settled, turning to face them and forcing a smile as she said, "H-h-hiya! I'm Dr. Alphys. I'm Asgore's royal scientist!"

If Chara was here, Frisk was sure they'd be out of here already. Honestly, part of them was itching to just run away, but quickly Alphys added, "B-b-but, ahhh, I'm not one of the 'bad guys'!" Oh, boy, Chara would be even more thrilled hearing their dad be called a bad guy. "Actually, since you stepped out of the ruins, I've... um... been 'observing' your journey through my console. Your fights... your friendships... everything! I was originally going to stop you, but... Watching someone on a screen really makes you root for them. S-So, ahhh, now I want to help you! Using my knowledge, I can easily guide you through Hotland! I know a way right to Asgore's castle, no problem!"

Frisk noticed she was... really nervous. They tried to smile encouragingly, but it wasn't working. They were also pretty nervous, for a number of reasons. It didn't help that she suddenly said, "Well, actually, umm, there's just a tiny issue. A long time ago, I made this robot named Mettaton? To be an entertainment robot? Uh, you know, like a robotic TV star or something... A-Anyway, recently I decided to make him more useful! Just some, uh, small practical adjustments. Like, umm... a-anti... human... combat features...? Of c-course when I saw you coming, I immediately decided... I have to remove those features! Unfortunately, I may have made a teensy mistake while doing so. And. Um..."

Her smile twisted a bit, giving them the idea that it was more than a teensy mistake. "Now he's an unstoppable killing machine with a thirst for human blood? Ehehehe... Heh." Her face turned serious, as Frisk continued staring. They wondered if anything could surprise them right now, but alas. "But, umm... hopefully we won't run into him!"

On cue, the room shook. Alphys looked confused, and after another shake asked, "Did you hear something?" Frisk looked around, sighing, knowing that aforementioned psycho robot would probably... bust out of the wall or something. This place was so ridiculous. As the shaking grew closer, Frisk barely heard Alphys say, "Oh no." And then...

Their eyes widened as the lights went out, and they heard a loud, robotic, "OHHH YES! WELCOME, BEAUTIES..." A spotlight came on a few feet away to reveal... it had... actually broken through the wall. Okay, they really were surprised, despite absolutely calling that. "...TO TODAY'S QUIZ SHOW!"

Theme music began to play from nowhere, disco balls and a large neon sign descended from the ceiling, this giant rectangle covered in flashing lights and buttons waved its arms in excitement. After taking it all in for a few moments, eyes still wide, Frisk looked toward the door in hopes Chara would be here. They'd probably get a kick out of this...

Frisk should've gone back and looked for them. They were obviously upset about what happened with Undyne, but... it had been an accident. They'd have to go back and tell them that once this present situation was dealt with.

"OH BOY! I CAN ALREADY TELL IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT SHOW! EVERYONE GIVE A BIG HAND FOR OUR WONDERFUL CONTESTANT!" The robot clapped, and in the background Frisk could hear... more clapping. They looked at Alphys in confusion, wondering if she had set all this stuff up before this – what, Mettaton? – became an evil psycho robot or if the robot just decided to bring its own show wherever it went.

"NEVER PLAYED BEFORE, GORGEOUS? NO PROBLEM! IT'S SIMPLE! THERE'S ONLY ONE RULE. ANSWER CORRECTLY..."

There was a drum roll, and the robot began flashing red, arms shaking as if it was laughing. "OR YOU DIE!"

Their soul was dragged out suddenly, the robot waving at them as Alphys looked on from nearby. *CHECK confirmed that his high defense, a result of his metal exterior, made it impossible to attack him. Not that they were going to, of course – they could play this game.

"LET'S START WITH AN EASY ONE!" He moved out of the way to reveal a screen asking what the prize for answering correctly was. Alphys, from her position, was making a "D" with her hands as the answers appeared on the board, and they signed a D, earning the robot's praise. "HERE'S YOUR TERRIFIC PRIZE!" he declared as the next question showed up, asking the king's full name. Having Chara around definitely stuck that in their mind.

"ENOUGH ABOUT YOU. LET'S TALK ABOUT ME!" Mettaton shouted as the next question popped up. Metal and magic seemed to be the obvious answer here, even though on the surface it would only be the former. "HERE'S ANOTHER EASY ONE FOR YOU!"

They could barely even make out the long question on the screen, the text too small, and as the answers appeared they looked to Alphys desperately for the answer. Mettaton claimed he was astounded, but they weren't sure if he was buying it. "DON'T 'COUNT' ON YOUR VICTORY..." Again they had to look to Alphys for help, wondering how long this was going to go on if the "questions" kept getting more and more impossible.

"LET'S PLAY MEMORY GAME." The corner of one of the frog monsters they'd met appeared, and they were sure of the answer... until they saw Alphys desperately giving them a different answer. They tried not to give her a weird look that would make it obvious they were cheating, but still hesitated, watching the time quickly go down before trusting her that it was Mettaton. What a cheater – oh, wait.

"BUT CAN YOU GET THIS ONE?" he asked, the question appearing: "Would you smooch a ghost?" Alphys squinted at the question, and all the answers just said... "heck yeah."

Frisk looked away, clearing their throat a bit. Maybe it was better that Chara wasn't here. Instead of giving a letter answer they signed, "Heck yeah." Alphys turned that squint in their direction.

"GREAT ANSWER! I LOVE IT!"

The next question that appeared was about... Mew Mew Kissy Cutie. They were about to answer, having watched some of the show with their siblings, only for Alphys to go on a sudden tirade – obviously she was a fan. Mettaton interrupted her rambling, though, tsking, "ALPHYS, ALPHYS, ALPHYS. YOU AREN'T HELPING OUR CONTESTANT, ARE YOU?" Alphys slowly shook her head, smiling nervously. "OOOH! YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME. I'LL ASK A QUESTION... YOU'LL BE SURE TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO!"

Alphys was covering her mouth now. Obviously Mettaton had some dirt on the scientist, making Frisk kind of curious. And when the question appeared, they realized why she was giving that look. "Who does Dr. Alphys have a crush on?"

Was she the type to like attractive warrior fish women? Goat kings? Or – wait, they were one of the options? Frisk looked at Alphys somewhat accusingly, even though they weren't sure if that was the case, seeing her waving her hands in an attempt to get them not to answer. She definitely seemed like the type to like an attractive warrior fish. They selected A.

Immediately she covered her face, her blush obvious even behind her hands. "SEE, ALPHYS? I TOLD YOU IT WAS OBVIOUS. EVEN THE HUMAN FIGURED IT OUT. YES, SHE SCRAWLS HER NAME IN THE MARGINS OF HER NOTES. SHE NAMES PROGRAMMING VARIABLES AFTER HER. SHE EVEN WRITES STORIES OF THEM TOGETHER... SHARING A DOMESTIC LIFE. PROBABILITY OF CRUSH: 101%. MARGIN OF ERROR. ONE PERCENT."

He scooted back in from of the screen, Alphys slightly uncovering her face to continue looking at him. Frisk honestly thought her crush was kind of cute, but they didn't seem to dwell on it any longer. "WELL, WELL, WELL. WITH DR. ALPHYS HELPING YOU... THE SHOW HAS NO DRAMATIC TENSION! WE CAN'T GO ON LIKE THIS! BUT. BUT! THIS WAS JUST THE PILOT EPISODE! NEXT UP, MORE DRAMA! MORE ROMANCE! MORE BLOODSHED! UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLINGS...!"

And just like that, his arms and wheel-leg went into his rectangular body, and he... took off like a rocket, breaking through the ceiling. Oh. Okay then. Everything was back to normal suddenly, minus the giant hole in the wall, and both Frisk and Alphys were momentarily baffled. They only snapped out of their daze when she said, "Well that was certainly something," looking completely unfazed as if this was an everyday occurrence.

...okay. That seemed to be it? They looked back at Alphys, who just sorta... stared at the wall.

Time... to go look for Chara?

As they tried to leave, she shouted after them, "Wait, wait! Let me give you my ph-phone number! Th-then... m-maybe... If you need help, I could..." She looked at their phone as they pulled it out of their bag, seeming startled, and asked, "Wh... where'd you get that phone!? It's ANCIENT! It doesn't even have texting. W-wait a second, please!"

She grabbed it and ran off with it for a few minutes, leaving them to stand there doing nothing for a while... They wondered if Chara was okay. If Chara knew they were okay, considering they'd last seem them running away from Undyne. Maybe having texting would make it easier to communicate with them, maybe they could write a note or something...

"Here, I upgraded it for you!" Alphys said excitedly as she returned. "It can do texting, items, it's got a key chain... I even signed you up for the underground's No. 1 social network! Now we're officially friends! Ehehehe! Heheh... Heh..." She looked kind of awkward for a few moments, but Frisk legitimately smiled at her this time. Alphys was kind of adorable, even if... um, kinda strange. "I... I'm going to the bathroom." she suddenly said, before running off to the room she'd come out of when they arrived.

...well, that was that?

Instead of looking around, they immediately turned to go back the way they'd come. There were a few monsters that had shown up since they'd been running away from Undyne, but no sign of Chara... They went as far back as the caverns with the glowing rocks, but still found nothing. With a sigh, they backtracked back to the lab. Maybe they'd gone on ahead while avoiding the lab...?

If Frisk had been tugged toward Chara, this would've been easier... but instead there was something deeper in the mountain, unmoving, that drew them toward it. Their soul was still resonating with something else.

But what?

"Alphys," they began a text as they walked back towards the lab, "thank you for the upgrade; it will be more helpful than you know. Was wondering if I could wait in your lab for a while. If you're as willing to help as you say you are, I have a favor to ask."

As they approached, a few minutes after sending the text, the door opened and revealed... Alphys. She seemed... uncomfortable. She hadn't replied to the text. "U-Um... yeah! Feel free! To stay here... uh. Wh-What's the favor about?"

"Tra la la. Come again..."

Chara wasn't going to ask how the riverperson could see them. They were kind of weird in general. Glancing back, they saw them waving, humming along as they went through the now slightly frozen river towards other destinations. Hotland was just up ahead... and hopefully Frisk was, too.

They'd heard Undyne muttering about the stupid human, and eventually came to the conclusion that... at the least, Undyne hadn't stolen Frisk's soul. They'd walked with her all the way back to her house by that point, though, unable to slow her down very much with their ice powers, not wanting to risk hurting her again. They just hoped Frisk hadn't gotten into much trouble without them around... and that they didn't worry them much...

That said, as they entered Hotland, they immediately noticed... the lab, completed, in all its "glory." Construction on it had started back when they were still alive, but seeing it completed made them a bit uncomfortable... Even so, they'd known the scientist who was supposed to work there.

...what was their name again, though? They were sure they'd met...

They shook their head. No time to worry about that now. They'd meet the current royal scientist soon enough, they supposed – they just hoped they weren't some mad scientist type. Maybe Frisk had already befriended them by now. When they approached the lab, a loud voice caught their attention from the other direction, leading them to head towards the elevator.

"I-I just never thought th-that they'd still... still be... After all this time! You know! Um..."

"Frisk!" Chara shouted, finding their companion with a shorter monster in a lab coat. Frisk paused for a moment, obviously trying to listen to the monster ahead of them, but when she looked away the child turned their head quickly to smile in Chara's direction, before looking back at... Alphys, wasn't it?

"That there are still a few of you left!" Alphys exclaimed at last, messing with a control panel on the elevator. "I-I'd mostly heard the rumors, you know, a few here and there, when I was younger... You've given me some fascinating data, though! The elevator's... u-um, the elevator's working just fine! Now! Erm..." The panel closed as she pressed a button, smiling awkwardly at the human. "M-Maybe if you... um... wanted... we could, um..." But the smile faded away, slowly, causing both humans concern.

"...I... thank you. For putting up with me. Sorry, I... I had this – n-no, never mind, that doesn't matter. What does matter is... I have to tell you something. Really important." Alphys took a deep breath, looking down at the ground. "A human soul... even one like yours isn't strong enough to cross the barrier alone."

Chara's eyes widened, remembering – one day, after New Home was established. It was so close to the barrier... Chara was curious how it worked. It allowed things in, but nothing out. They went to go touch it, only to meet an invisible wall. Light flooded in from down a long passageway.

Asriel's face... all lit up, looking so sad.

"It takes a human soul... and a monster soul."

Together.

"If you want to go home... you'll have to take his soul."

Ri... this is my home.

"You'll have to kill Asgore."

This is my family.

"I'm sorry."

I want to protect them.

Alphys turned to walk away without another word, back toward her lab. The kids looked after her, troubled by the idea, but... "It's okay," Chara said suddenly, surprising Frisk, "you won't have to. Dad will help us. Dad will understand. Asriel can make him listen to you, if nothing else." When they turned to look at Frisk's face... it still looked grim. "I... I promise! Quit that! Let's go see him, right now!"

As they sat in the elevator, waiting to reach their destination, Frisk caught Chara up on what had happened. They'd run into a robot, then decided to ask Alphys for help getting the elevator back in working order in exchange for some information on humans. Specifically... fallen humans. Alphys had been young when the last few people in Chara's group, by then nearly adults, had fallen into the underground –

"Nearly? How old is Alphys, then? How long have I even been dead?" Frisk shrugged, not really sure. Tone somewhat nervous, Chara continued to question, "How old is Ri now...? How much has he changed?" They sighed. "I was... I was his only friend. Because our parents were the king and queen, people were hesitant to approach him. It only became worse when he befriended me, though. The war was still recent enough that adults had taught their children to hate humans. It was difficult for all of us. And being called 'human trash' was probably the worst insult I ever got. I... I also hated humans. I still hate humans."

They smiled at Frisk, though, and said, "But... my family taught me not to hate all of them. I know that even though there are bad people or monsters... not all of them are. You're definitely not bad. And somebody once said to me..." Their expression softened, and they leaned back against the wall of the elevator, practically whispering, "'You're a good kid, Chara. Never forget that.'" And they hadn't. They wanted to believe that despite being human, they were good.

The elevator finally came to a halt, and the two of them stood to exit. They ran across the Nice Cream guy, and passed through the resort – which Chara was thrown off by, considering it hadn't been there before – without much incident. It felt like something was missing from the scene as they passed through, but Chara mostly shrugged it off. The two children were too nervous about what was coming up to stop inside.

Before too long they came upon the Core. Chara thought about the many issues the Underground had without a power source, and now there was one like this to power it all... Though something about the place creeped them out, like they were being... watched. By something that shouldn't be there. Something that shouldn't be able to see them. They urged Frisk to hurry on, and the two continued up another elevator, to a long corridor with a door at the end. Frisk paused a moment, typing something on their phone.

"Whatever has been drawing me in is beyond here." they typed, their expression... hard to determine. "I never knew what would happen when I came here. I never knew what to expect. You have helped me.

"You are my friend.

"But I feel this is a turning point. I don't know what will happen. I only hope you are right about Asgore."

"Don't worry, Frisk." Chara smiled, putting a hand over their shoulder, even though they could not touch them. The cold emanating off of them would have to do. "I know things will be okay." Frisk returned the smile, nodding. But it did not reach their eyes. Both of them frowned as they turned toward the door.

This was the end.


	6. New Home

The long, silent elevator ride was almost unbearable.

Chara couldn't find the words to say, though. Soon they'd come face-to-face with the missing half of their family. Who couldn't even see them. They were bracing themself for heartbreak, but there was no amount of preparation for this. They still weren't even sure if they wanted Frisk to tell them they were here.

Frisk decided, as the elevator came to a halt, that now was the best time to ask what had happened back there with Undyne. They shook their head, wanting to banish the thought of it from their mind. "I... I lost my temper. That's all. I ended up following her back home because... I was worried since she stopped chasing you, you might be..." Their voice shook a moment, but they sighed. "I don't want you to get hurt, Frisk."

Frisk held up their phone, which only said, "I don't want you to be hurt, either." Chara reminded the living child they were a ghost, and would probably be fine.

Probably.

To say nothing of the emotions they were feeling.

They stepped off the elevator, into the grey, empty hallway. Frisk stopped at a dead end to save before moving into... an empty, quiet city. "That elevator would take us directly to the throne room, but..." Chara hesitated, looking in the other direction. "My house... it's that way." And down the empty streets they went, in silence...

Until they found it.

New Home.

While Frisk hesitated outside, Chara ran in immediately, looking at the familiar interior. It looked... exactly like New Home, to be honest. But the color was gone, the only thing standing out a vase of... golden flowers on the other side of the room. Their eyes widened as they rushed over to look at it, wondering... where had them gotten these? Was it from the Ruins? Had Mom given them to them before abandoning them?

Frisk walked inside and looked around, looking deep in thought, as Chara moved to go look at the note by the stairs. Why was it blocked off? "We... we have to go find the keys. C'mon, hurry!" That said, they turned to run down the hall, leaving Frisk to follow slowly behind.

Inside their room – it looked untouched. Very clean. But just the same as they'd left it... "Ri?" they called out, despite the fact he wouldn't be able to hear them, before noticing on the ground... two boxes. As Frisk entered, they turned to say, "Hey, can you see what's in those?"

Frisk immediately shook their head.

"Wha? What's wrong?" The living child passed them, picking up one box despite their denial, and went to sit on the bed with it in their lap. They stared at the box as Chara rushed over to them, asking, "Frisk, why are you being weird? C'mon, the sooner we're done looking around the sooner we'll see Dad and Ri! They're... they're downstairs in the throne room together! I know it!"

But Frisk shook their head again, holding the box close to them. They looked... sad. They looked scared. They weren't sure what to think. And neither was Chara. "Do you... do you know what's in the box?" Another shake of their head. "Then what is it?"

They pulled out their phone, typing only, "This is what I was sensing."

"So? Open it!"

More typing. Slowly, too slowly, it was driving Chara insane. They didn't need Frisk to go with them, in the end. They could go and see their family on their own. But they wanted Frisk to be there, and so... they would wait. Though they weren't sure how long they could.

"Now that I'm beside it, it feels so sad. So mournful, like a hurt child."

This description... scared Chara, too. What exactly was inside the box? They couldn't really feel anything coming from it, but... should they open it? Yet despite the description, their fears, their denials, Frisk finally without prompting began to open the box. And inside... was an old friend.

A heart-shaped locket.

Their fears immediately melted away, and without thinking they reached to snatch it from Frisk's hands. To both of their surprise, it worked, but neither could dwell on it – Chara hardly reading the definite "Best Friends Forever" on it – before Frisk's soul, without warning, came out of their body.

Chara, locket in hand, collapsed onto their knees without warning.

And two faded, ghostly monsters appeared in the room with them, beginning to speak just as Frisk rushed to move to Chara's side, trying to figure out what had happened.

"A long time ago, a human fell into the ruins," one spoke. Chara's eyes were wide and... empty. Their tight grip on the locket began to freeze it shut. "Injured by its fall, the human called out for help." The monsters changed formed, into different monsters, but continued to speak. "Asriel, the king's son, heard the human's call. He brought the human back to the castle."

A whisper barely escaped Chara, a broken, shaking, "As...ri...el...?"

"Over time, Asriel and the human became like siblings. The King and Queen treated the human child as their own. The underground was full of hope."

And they began to cough, arms moving to cover their face, crumpling further to the ground in supposed agony. Frisk tried to get their attention, but nothing worked. They could only listen.

"Then... one day... the human became very ill."

The longer they coughed, the more Frisk noticed... beneath them, the yellow petals. Tainted with red.

"The sick human had only one request. To see the flowers from their village. But there was nothing we could do."

Their coughing slowed to a halt. Their whole body shook.

"The next day... the next day..."

It became dead silent for a moment, one horrible moment.

"The human died.

"Asriel, wracked with grief, absorbed the human's soul. He transformed into a being with incredible power. With the human soul, Asriel crossed through the barrier. He carried the human's body into the sunset. Back to the village of the humans."

And finally, more coherent words, choked sobs escaped from Chara. "Don't go... don't go... don't leave me..."

"Asriel reached the center of the village. There, he found a bed of golden flowers. He carried the human onto it."

"Don't go to that place, Ri..."

"Suddenly, screams rang out. The villagers saw Asriel holding the human's body. They thought that he had killed the child."

"Leave them... we don't need them, we..."

"The humans attacked with everything they had."

"We can still go home..."

"He was struck with blow after blow."

"We can still be happy..."

"Asriel had the power to destroy them all."

"But I... that wasn't... what I..."

"But... Asriel did not fight back. Clutching the human... Asriel smiled, and walked away.

"Wounded, Asriel stumbled home. He entered the castle and collapsed."

They were silent. They slowly looked up, eyes still empty, vacant. Still clutching the locket, eyes wet with tears. Even when Frisk moved in front of them, they did not respond, looking right through them.

"His dust spread across the garden."

And all their fears were realized.

"The kingdom fell into despair. The King and Queen had lost two children in one night. The humans had once again taken everything from us. The king decided it was time to end our suffering. Every human who falls down here must die. With enough souls, we can shatter the barrier forever.

"It's not long now. King Asgore will let us go. King Asgore will give us hope. King Asgore will save us all.

"You should be smiling, too.

"Aren't you excited?

"Aren't you happy?"

Without warning, the ground beneath Chara started to crumble. The room around the children began to collapse, revealing not the house supposedly around them but instead a familiar black abyss. Static engulfed the nearby, unopened box. Frisk looked around desperately, not having a clue as to what was going on, barely able to hear the monsters' final words as white noise engulfed the area, causing them to cover their ears.

"You're going to be free."


	7. error

The two of us, together, carried my body. And it was strange, and it was scary, to know that you are dead. To know that you are going to a home you hated. To know that you are taking your dear brother to the place you despised.

To know that your life was over, that it had just begun.

I loved the golden flowers outside the window, so as we passed we went to set my body down there. My final wish fulfilled, in a way – how fitting. The next step was to go to the lab, just within reach. To get the souls of the other six children.

And Asriel said I'd been happy, in the underground. "You were happy there." I still was. We'd be together forever now.

But Asriel could not fight back. I pleaded – get the other souls, save everybody in the underground. But he would not hurt the humans I so hated. He would not defend us.

He picked up my body to return both of us home.

As he set me down he turned to dust. As he turned to dust my soul shattered.

"I couldn't protect you."

"I'm sorry."

"Goodbye."

But that wasn't the end, was it? We suffered for a long time, and now we have another chance. Here you are. Here we are.

I called them here to the mountain, but I didn't expect you. No matter.

We can set things right now, you and I!

Want me to tell you how?

...the monsters' souls. All of them, together.

Wit r, you can take them. But it's okay. All you have to do is start over! Nobody will remember a thing, will they?

You don't believe me? You don't trust me?

Aren't you angry? Aren't you sad?

The humans are free. Asriel is dead. They made you and I and everybody we love suffer.

...of course it will cause some more suffering, but it's temporary. And then everybody will be happy. Everybody will be free. And the humans... they'll pay for what they've done. Because Asriel isn't coming back, is he?

He's gone.

Forever.

Because of them.

So...

What do you say... partner?


	8. Epilogue

Frisk slowly opened their eyes after a time. They'd... passed out? They weren't sure what happened...

They looked around at the nothingness around them, easily spotting the lone figure crouched a few yards away. The second box, the only thing that remained from the young monarchs' room, was now opened, sitting next to them as they examined the contents: A single knife that they now held in their hand.

Frisk wanted to go to them, but found they could not move. Their hands behind them and legs in front of them were seemingly tied to whatever "ground" might have existed through black, chain-like restrictions. They could only wait for them to look this way, to get their attention.

The knife shifted, static seemingly engulfing it every few seconds as the child seemed to change it, back and forth, from a dull, worn-out dagger to a sharp blade, sometimes shimmering red as if imbued with Determination. Chara seemed interested in their ability to change it like this, more so than anything else, and refused to look in Frisk's direction.

Their mouth moved slowly as if speaking, but from this distance Frisk could not make out any words.

And finally, some long moments later, they stood abruptly. They looked in Frisk's direction. Eyes glowing red, locket hovering in front of them as if prepared to latch itself onto their neck, they stared into Frisk's eyes... and they smiled. A smile that did not reach their eyes. The smile of somebody who had now lost everything.

"I know what to do now, Frisk."

Something appeared behind them, a glitch in the void, something that should not exist. They took a deep breath, and they laughed. They clutched the knife tightly in their hand as they turned towards the object, something Frisk could not clearly make out.

"I know how to save everybody."

Frisk could say nothing, do nothing. They struggled uselessly, but could only watch.

This must be how Chara felt.

"Together, we can free them... but first..."

They reached out their hand to touch it, ignoring the pain that shot through their body, and they continued to laugh. They kept their hand on it even as light flashed around them, the void seemingly tearing itself apart in response to whatever they were doing.

The button itself cracked, and threatened to break, but still it complied.

"...we'll have to kill them."


End file.
